Going South
by Tanyaleefr
Summary: When a wealthy couple is found dead in their home in Miami, the CSIs have to work with a team from over the border to solve the case.
1. Prologue

_**Disclaimer**__: I don't own anything! Well maybe a few characters... but nothing else!_

_**Author's note: **__It's been a WHILE since I wrote a Miami story… but this new season seems to have given me the urge to write again!_

_I really hope you enjoy this new story! FLUFF, suspense, FLUFF, FLUFF, AND MORE FLUFF! OH and SUSPENSE! _

_Don't forget to REVIEW!_

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**Going South**

**Prologue **

Ryan Wolfe held his head straight as he climbed out of his Hummer, ignoring the wave of questions from the numerous reporters impatiently standing in front of the luxurious home. He acknowledged one of the officers guarding the house and walked under the yellow tape that surrounded the crime scene. He followed the path up to the front door and walked in, flinching slightly at the smell that hit his nose instantly.

"Calleigh?"

"In here!" his partner's soft voice reached his ears, coming from the next room.

"Yeah… I guess I just have to follow the smell." He muttered, preparing himself for what he'd find in the next room.

He walked in the very spacious living room and joined Calleigh, who was standing over two very poor looking bodies. The couple was lying on the floor, large puddles of now dried blood staining the expansive white carpet. "So, who do I have the pleasure to meet?"

Calleigh gave him a disapproving look. "This is Clark Wilson and his wife, Belinda Wilson. Tom still hasn't had a look at them, but I assume they've been in this position for more than 48 hours."

"Who found them?"

"Mr. Wilson's partner showed up at the house after trying to call his cell numerous times. He said he found them in this position and dialled 911 as soon as he'd realized what had happened to them."

Ryan nodded his head and crouched down, wanting to get a closer look at the two victims. Mrs. Wilson was lying on her back. Her head was tilted back, her empty eyes staring at the ceiling. She had taken a bullet right in the middle of the forehead. Her husband, on the other hand, was lying sideways, giving Ryan a perfect view of his bloody temple. A gun, which appeared to be the murder weapon, was still in his right hand. "Murder-suicide?"

Calleigh let her eyes travel from the first victim to the second for a few more seconds before answering his question. "I think this is a set up."

Ryan nodded his head in agreement. "Yeah. The gun might be in his hand, but there aren't any burn marks around the wound. I'm going to wait for Tom's professional analysis, but there's no way this man shot himself." He straightened himself up and walked over to his kit to retrieve a pair of gloves and his camera.

Calleigh gave him a small smile and went to get her own kit, following his lead.

"Is anyone else coming to this smelly party?" Ryan asked her, snapping his gloves on.

"Nathalia and Walter are on their way. Eric's already working on a case with Horatio." She informed him.

"Let's get started, then! I have a feeling we could be here a while."

XXXXX

"Are you telling me we've got nothing?"

Calleigh shook her head slowly. "Nada. No prints, no evidence, not a single hair that's doesn't belong."

Ryan sighed and frowned at the several pictures laid out on the glass table. He'd been hoping the bodies could've given them something to work with, since they'd been unable to find anything on the crime scene.

Tom had confirmed his hypotheses the moment he'd taken his first look at the victims. Mrs. Wilson had been shot first, probably right in front of her husband's horrified eyes. Mr. Wilson had been shot to the head and placed so that it would look like he'd shot himself after murdering his wife.

Calleigh, Ryan, Nathalia and Walter had spent hours searching and dusting the whole house. They'd been more than disappointed to realize they were unable to find anything that'd help them solve the case.

"Hey, guys." Walter joined them into the room, but from the look on his face, he wasn't about to give them any good news. "I just interrogated the partner. Everything he said checks out, and he has a pretty good alibi. His wife gave birth three days ago and he only left the house once, when he paid the short visit to Mr. Wilson's place and discovered the victims."

"Great." Ryan deadpanned. He was really starting to feel discouraged about this case. He usually wasn't the one to abandon easily, but he'd been working non-stop on this case, and coffee didn't seem to have anymore effect on his exhausted body. "Let's just hope Delko and Natalia find something for us to work with."

Apparently, Eric's case had been an easy one and Horatio had asked him to help the rest of the team on their murder case. He'd volunteered to help Natalia go through the vic's office to check for clues.

"Was that my name I heard?" Delko nearly shouted as he joined them, a proud grin on his face. Natalia was close behind, rolling her eyes at her Cuban partner.

"AT LAST, captain CSI has arrived to save the day!" Ryan shouted back, raising his hands up.

"Funny, Wolfe."

"I know. So? From that look on your face, I'd think you made interesting discoveries."

"We might just have found something really good." Natalia announced, waving a folder proudly.

Ryan, Calleigh and Walter all straightened up in curiosity, liking the smile on their partner's face. "Do tell!"

"We went through the victims' phone records, which gave us nothing…" She started. "However, their bank account had a lot to tell us."

Delko raised his hand up, interrupting her. "Well, actually, not that much." He reminded her.

NataIia nodded her head, agreeing with him. "Exactly. It is completely empty."

"Empty?" Calleigh asked, frowning.

"Yep, Mr. Wilson made a transaction two days ago, and emptied his complete life savings. Close to a million dollars were transferred to another account in the morning of the murder."

"Do we have a name?" Ryan asked, finally feeling some hope.

Natalia was already nodding her head at his question. "Yes, we have a name." She paused and checked in the file. "Michel Rancourt." She read, having a little difficulty pronouncing the name.

"What is that? French?" Walter asked, frowning.

"French Canadian, actually. The bank account is in Montreal." Delko announced.

Ryan nodded his head in appreciation. "We need to check that out." He cocked his head, giving Natalia one of his innocent smiles. "How's your French, Nat?"

She rolled her eyes at him. "Let's just hope they're really, REALLY patient."

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_Soooo? What'd you think? Does it seem worth it? Do you want some more?_

_I'm not a pro at writing suspense, and I'm probably going to make tons of mistakes concerning lots of information, but I promise I'll do my best!_

_I have all these ideas going through my head right now… _

_Yay for CSI Miami!_

_PLEASE REVIEW! _


	2. Chapter 1

**Author's note: Hey everyone! I decided to post the first chapter sooner than I had planned, since I thought the prologue wasn't long enough…**

**I'd like to thank Gooniegirl3333 for reviewing! Reviews always make my day!**

**PLEASE DON'T FORGET TO REVIEW!**

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**Chapter 1: Stranger in a Strange Land**

Emmanuelle laid her head back and shut her eyes tightly, forcing herself to take slow, deep breaths. _'I'm never gonna get used to this…'_ she thought, holding her breath as she felt the plane finally hit the ground.

She hated flying. She always tried avoiding it, but this time, she simply hadn't had the choice.

She sighed and opened her eyes as a few passengers around her applauded. She waited for the _fasten your seatbelt_ sign to turn off, already feeling a lot better now that they were safely on the ground. "Why are we here again?" she mumbled moodily, making her neighbor groan.

"Do I really have to answer that question?" Louis freed himself from his seat and stood up, reaching for his bag in the overhead compartment.

Emmanuelle unfastened her seatbelt and shrugged. "Why couldn't THEY fly to Montreal?"

Louis looked down at her. "Are you kidding me?"

"Are you going to answer every one of my questions with a question?" she shot back.

Louis rolled his eyes. "I don't BELIEVE you!" He said a little too loudly, exasperated with her. "We're in Miami, Mani. FREAKIN' MIAMI!" He reminded her, raising his large arms up to emphasize his point.

However, his outburst didn't seem to have any effect on her. "So?"

He sighed and shook his head, discouraged. "Forget it. You're a lost cause, you know that?" He grabbed his carryon bag and threw it over his shoulder, before taking hers out and throwing it at her.

Mani caught it and looked out the small window, hiding her grin from her partner. It was simply too easy to push his buttons. "What's so cool about Miami anyway?" She asked.

"Erm, well there's the weather. Do I have to remind you that we were wearing freaking snow suits just a few hours ago?"

She looked up at him again, giving him a small pout. "I love snow. I'm sweating like a pig already and we haven't even left the plane." She whined, wrinkling her freckled nose.

He ignored her comment and wiggled his eyebrows suggestively. "The women."

She gave him a huge, sarcastic smile. "I can already see it! All these women, hanging onto your strong biceps." She pointed her finger at him. "But remember! You told me I'd get to choose mine first! I want the one with the biggest rack."

Louis rolled his eyes at her and sighed, defeated. "Anyway, we're here, so it's too late for you to act like a bitch and make me lose this chance of visiting Miami for free." He started walking down the aisle towards the exit.

Mani groaned and pushed herself up, quickly following him. "Do I have to remind you that we're not here to act like tourists? We're here for a murder investigation. And, just to let you know, if I want to act like a bitch, I'll act like a bitch."

"_Salope." _He mumbled, knowing she was close enough to hear him.

She laughed and wrapped her free arm around his neck. "I love you too, Lou." She kissed his cheek noisily, delighted at his short chuckle. He never stayed mad at her for long.

They walked together, following the other passengers as they all prepared to walk into the terminal. Just as they were about to pass the large doors, Louis put his hand on her arm, stopping her from going any further. "At least try being friendly with these people, alright? We could be here for a while and I don't want to have to put out your fires."

She grimaced. "Let's hope we don't have to stay for too long. My thick northern skin might not make it through this heat for very long."

Louis sighed, knowing he'd never get the last word with her. Emmanuelle Villeneuve was one of the most stubborn women he'd ever met. And of course, she'd had to become his partner.

"So, what's his name again?" Mani asked him, following him as he started walking again.

Her partner scratched his head and frowned. "A… Wolfe… guy."

"Good job, Lou." She chuckled, patting him on the arm.

"Hey, you could have read the memo too, you know." Slightly frustrated. "He's supposed to be waiting for us."

"Well, do you know what he looks like?"

"We didn't exchange pictures, Mani. We haven't become Facebook friends yet."

She chuckled and followed him as he joined the other passengers. They looked around, trying to spot the man who was supposed to pick them up. They saw many tourists slowly pulling their luggage behind them, and a few touching reunions, but no one who looked like a cop. Mani was about to say something when she noticed a man quickly making his way through the crowd towards them. If she had no idea who he was, he certainly seemed to know who they were. He was a little taller than she was and was wearing what seemed to be a very expensive suit. He was very good looking, but as cute as he was, he seemed way too cocky for her liking.

"Agents Villeneuve and Archambault?" He asked in a thick accent, extending his hand up to greet them.

"What? No sign?" She blurted out, ignoring Louis' nudge.

Ryan gave her a weird smile, but kept quiet.

Louis rolled his eyes at his partner and shook the man's hand, giving him a warm smile. "You can call me Louis."

"Ryan Wolfe." He shook his hand and turned his attention on the brunette. "You must be Emmanuelle?" He tried, smiling.

"Mani." She told him, shaking his hand, forcing a smile to her lips. "So what's the plan?" She asked, not losing a second to get into her professional mode.

Wolfe didn't seem to have any problem with it. "Do you want to go straight to the lab or you'd like to stop by your hotel to drop your bags first?"

"Let's go straight to the lab, alright? The sooner we start the sooner we can leave this inferno." She really wished she'd thought of changing into some lighter clothes before leaving the plane. Her black jeans and white shirt were already sticking to her like a second skin. She'd already rolled up her sleeves, but it wasn't enough.

Lou shook his head in defeat and left them without a word, apparently going to get his bags from the baggage carousel. Ryan gave her a small, forced smile and followed the taller man, leaving her behind.

She smiled to herself and lifted her long wavy brown hair up into a messy bun. She'd tried, she really had. _'You're a bad, bad girl, Mani.'_ She told herself before following them to the carousel.

When they finally walked out of the airport, the two men were already immersed in an animated conversation about Miami. She walked a few paces behind them, not trusting her ability to keep her mouth shut. She loved Louis, she really did; he was a great guy. She knew he wasn't doing it on purpose, but the fact that he seemed to enjoy being in Miami really annoyed the hell out of her.

There was nothing fun about a murder investigation.

No one could've prepared them for the phone call they'd received two days before. A woman from Miami, claiming to be investigating a murder, had called the department and asked for their help concerning a bank account in Montreal. Apparently, the murder victims had transferred a large amount of money to that bank account, leaving theirs completely empty.

What had surprised them hadn't been the call. What had surprised them had been the obvious link between the American case and the one they'd been working on for the past week.

Before she knew it, her supervisor had taken the decision to fly Louis and her down to Miami to work with their team. He'd told them the tie between the two cases was too evident to ignore. As much as she hated having to go to Miami, this was her case, and she wanted to solve it, no matter what. As for Louis, well he'd been more than happy to go to Miami.

She decided to keep her mouth shut as Wolfe loaded her luggage in a large Hummer (she hated Hummers), and climbed in the back seat. She kept her most important bag right next to her, not trusting anyone else with it. She couldn't keep herself from rolling her eyes at her partner's excitement as they drove through Miami. The city was incredible; there was no denying it. But call her crazy, she would've picked Montreal over Miami in a heartbeat.

Mani sighed in relief when they finally reached the police department, thankful she wouldn't have to listen to Louis' "ooh's" and "aah's" for much longer. She climbed out of the vehicle and stretched her sore limbs, wincing at the pain shooting from her left knee. She wasn't used to sitting for such a long time, and after the flight and the car ride, her body screamed for a different position.

But right now, she couldn't wait to start working on the case.

Her first thoughts as she stepped out of the elevator, were that the Miami lab didn't look at all like what she was used to work in. The lab in Montreal was old and dusty; as this lab seemed completely new, filled with top of the line equipment. She exchanged looks with her partner, knowing he was probably thinking the exact same thing.

They were full of crap.

Wolfe led them through the building and into a large conference room.

"Mr. Archambault, Mrs. Villeneuve." A man with bright red hair approached them, smiling politely. "I'm Horatio Caine."

"Happy to be here." Louis exclaimed, his loud voice making her jump slightly. Not only was he a big guy, he also had the loudest voice she'd ever heard. "Call me Louis." He told him, shaking the man's hand energetically.

"Mani." the brunette simply said, shaking his hand.

Mr. Caine nodded his head slowly and turned his attention on the few people who were standing behind him. "This is my team. Mrs. Natalia Boa Vista, Eric Delko, Calleigh Duquesne, Walter and you've already met Mr. Wolfe."

Mani studied the team quickly, giving them a small smile. The petite blonde woman, Calleigh, seemed very warm and friendly. The other woman, Natalia, was very beautiful, and seeing from the look on Louis' face, she wasn't the only one who'd noticed. She could describe Eric Delko with one simple word: gorgeous. And the only thing she could think of when she looked at Walter, was that he was huge. She'd never thought she'd get to meet anyone who was more imposing than her partner.

As for Wolfe, she'd already made up her mind about him. He was less up tight than she'd imagined at first, but there was something about him that annoyed the shit out of her.

Mani shook their hands, trying to give them a natural smile, and then lifted the bag that held all the important documents to put it on the large table. "Why don't we all get to work?"

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_SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO? Thoughts? Rotten tomatoes? Smiles and love? _

_I NEED THOSE REVIEWS!_

_Tanya_


	3. Chapter 2

_**Author's note: Enjoying writing this fic! I'm liking Mani more and more! I don't want to make her sound like a bitch… she's just a strong, pig headed woman with a HUGE attitude! Don't mess with her!**_

_**PLEASE don't forget to review! **_

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**Chapter 2: Investigators Investigating**

Mani was pleasantly surprised to see how professional the American team was when dealing with both cases. They'd already set up one of their labs with all of the evidence and information they'd been able to get on their own case, making it easier to find everything they needed quickly. They'd also provided them with a lot of space to arrange everything they had on their own murder case.

She found working with the team a lot easier than she'd thought. But as much as they all worked well together, they still hadn't found anything worth mentionning. They were still in the means of trying to find more clues that could tie the two cases together, anything that'd give them a strong lead.

But what she was enjoying the most was, without a doubt, the incredible equipment at her disposition. The top of the line computer she was standing in front of was simply amazing. She was currently working on posting all the information from her case onto this computer, which would make finding information a lot more efficient.

"Is she smiling?" Ryan said, breaking the silence.

Lou looked up from the paper he was reading to study his female partner's face. "She actually is! Last time I saw it was in 2004." He chuckled and glanced at Ryan. "Enjoy it while you can."

Mani sent her partner a dirty look, ignoring Ryan, who was smirking at her. "Funny." She mumbled, trying to focus her attention back on her work.

Ryan chuckled and looked at Louis again. "Is she always this serious?" He asked, tilting his head towards her.

Lou frowned and shook his head. "Actually, she usually can't shut her mouth. Drives me nuts…"

"And she can hear you both."

"She talks!" Wolfe exclaimed, ignoring the murderous glare the brunette gave him.

Louis winced. "This isn't good, Wolfe. She's never given ME that look, and I get on her nerves ALL the time."

Calleigh let out a loud sigh and walked over to the younger CSI, giving her a sympathizing smile. "Don't let Ryan get to you. He likes teasing people." She told her in a soft voice.

Mani shook her head. "It's ok. I'm used to working with Louis, so a little teasing doesn't really get to me." She told the blonde woman, shrugging her shoulders. She gave her a small grin and turned her attention back on the screen. "I can take it."

Calleigh grinned, seeing through her lie. Of course Ryan got to her, or else her face wouldn't have turned this red after he'd started teasing her. She glanced at Mani's work and raised her eyebrows, surprised. "You seem to really have got the hang of this! You work it better than I do, and I've had a lot of practice."

"I love computers." She explained, unable to keep the large smile from covering her lips. "I'm kind of a geek, I guess."

Calleigh let out a crystalline laugh. "Good thing a lot of us are geeks."

"What are you girls gossiping about?" Ryan interrupted, coming to stand between the two women.

Mani's smile disappeared. "We're actually working, something you might like to try." She shot back.

"Well why don't you show me how, since you're so good at it." He answered, giving her a cocky grin.

Emmanuelle stayed quiet and moved her fingers on the screen confidently, bringing one of the crime scenes picture up. "We've already told you who our victims were. François Montmigny and his wife, Jessica. They were found dead in their house, eight days ago. They were both shot in the head. The gun was left in the male victim's hand… we already know it was a set up."

Ryan folded his arms and frowned, his teasing mood apparently gone. "Sounds familiar." The CSIs exchanged knowing looks. "Keep going."

"The male victim owned an import-export company, which earned him quite a nice income. But, surprise! Their bank account is now completely empty. Seems Montmigny made a transfer, about an hour before he was found dead in his home." She moved the files around, and brought a document up on the screen. "We've studied the victim's bank account over and over again, but found nothing interesting. They had an expansive lifestyle, but that's pretty much it." She moved the documents around and settled on a new one. "This is the bank account the transfer was made to. The person who opened this account is named Michel Rancourt. It's a fake identity, of course. We were unable to gather more information on this man. The account was emptied forty-eight hours after the murder."

Ryan stayed quiet for a few seconds, studying the document. "Could you go back to your victim's bank account, please?" Without any warning, he moved closer to her and took control of the computer. "I think I saw something."

Calleigh and Emmanuelle watched him intently as he quickly opened one of their own files. His serious frown slowly started fading away, replaced with a proud grin.

"What?"

Ryan looked at Calleigh, ignoring her question. "I think we might have something."

Mani frowned and stared at the screen again, trying to see what he'd found.

"We studied and analyzed our victim's bank account over and over again, so I pretty much memorized it." He moved his fingers on the pad to zoom on the document. "A few weeks ago, our couple got themselves a nice cruise trip to the Caribbean." He brought their attention on the second document, zooming one a transactions the Montmigny's had made. "Seems our two couples have similar tastes."

Calleigh tapped him on the shoulder, nodding her head. "Let's call Horatio."

XXXXX

Emmanuelle groaned as constant knocking woke her from her nap. She sat on the bed and rubbed her face, trying to bring some life back into her numb brain. She glanced at the alarm clock and sighed, realizing her short nap had turned in a two-hour sleep.

She shook her head and pushed herself off the bed, growing more and more annoyed at whoever was knocking at her door. She started walking through her room but soon realized the banging was coming from the door separating her room from her partner's.

She quickly walked over to that door, unlocked it and pulled it open, glaring at the person standing on the other side.

Louis gave her a wide grin and walked passed her into her room, ignoring her murderess eyes. "What were you doing in here? Didn't you hear me?" he asked her, his booming voice resonating in her ears.

"Louis, you can be such an ass sometimes." She mumbled.

Ignoring her comment, he looked at her room, noticing the piles of folders and papers scattered around and on the bed. "Were you sleeping?" he chuckled, finding the crumpled papers on the bed quite amusing.

"I might have dosed off a little." She told him, folding her arms in front of herself.

Louis laughed. "But it's not even 7."

"So? I've been working my ass off on this case. I'm exhausted. Give me a break." She shot back, growing more and more annoyed at him. After Wolfe had finally found something major that tied the two murders, Horatio had asked Walter and Delko to look deeper into it. He had then pulled rank on her and asked her to get take some time off. In other words, he had thrown her out of the lab. He'd said he had to give a few phone calls, saying there were a few decisions he couldn't make alone.

But since she couldn't work at the lab, she'd decided to bring the lab with her. However, falling asleep hadn't been part of the plan.

"Are you ready?" Louis asked her, interrupting her thoughts.

She frowned. "For?"

"Dinner. We're gonna go out tonight. You and me. No take out crap."

"I don't know…"

"Mani, we've been here for two days already, and we haven't been anywhere else than this hotel and the crime lab" She sighed. "Look, tell you what. We go out, have dinner in a nice restaurant, and then come back. You'll be back sleeping with your files as fast as you can say 'I hate you'."

Mani bit her lower lip, thinking. As much as she hated to admit it, but he was right. She needed to focus her mind on something other than her murder victims. "Alright."

"Awesome."

"Does this mean I have to dress up?"

Louis looked her up and down and wrinkled his nose. "Well, you could use a little shower. You look like someone who fell asleep on top of a dozen pictures of dead people."

She rolled her eyes at him. "I won't comment on that."

"And that's even better news!" he grinned and pointed towards the bathroom. "Now go. I'm gonna get something in my room and when I come back, I want you dressed in fresh clothes, and smiling. And do something with your hair; you look like a poodle."

"LOUIS!"

Twenty minutes later, they were sitting in their rental car, driving through the city. "Well you seem to know where you're going." Mani asked her partner, having absolutely no idea where he was taking her.

"Yeah, Delko gave me the directions to this great place he likes to go to."

"Oh, good." She muttered.

"You don't seem to like them very much."

"Why would you say that?"

He chuckled at her. "Are you kidding me?"

Mani rolled her eyes and shrugged her shoulders. "I might not have been that… friendly… towards the team, but my whole mind has been focused on solving this case." She sighed and shook his head. "You call me a bitch and you've known me for two years. Imagine what they think of me after only working with me for a few days?"

"You can't really blame them! It's not like you've even tried."

"Maybe I haven't…" She sighed. "Where are you taking me anyways, Texas? I'm hungry!"

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_THOUGHTS? COMMENTS? _

_ANYTHING!_

_Thank you!_


	4. Chapter 3

_**Author's note: **__Alright so, this is finally going somewhere… I hope you enjoy this chapter!_

_BY THE WAY! The information about the ship, its name, its description, all comes from my imagination… so if there's like, NO WAY a boat like that could ever be built._

_It's not called fan FICTION for nothing! Just go with it, alright?_

_Special thanks to **Gooniegirl**, **Luf100** and **Roots4Miami**! You made my day! :)_

_Don't forget to review, pretty please!_

**Chapter 3: Pride of the Seas**

Emmanuelle stifled a yawn as she leaned back in her chair. She glanced at her half empty cup of coffee and pouted. If she had any more, she'd probably die of a heart attack. Plus, she had no idea why she'd ingurgitated so much, since it never had any effect on her anyway.

Louis was sitting on the chair next to hers, his chin almost touching his chest as he apparently tried to get a little more sleep. She didn't know why he was so tired, it wasn't like he hadn't slept at all. AND he had no problem sleeping anywhere. As for herself, she already had a hard time having a good night's sleep in her own bed, let alone a cold strange hotel bed in Miami.

"MORNING!"

She winced as her partner jumped on his seat, suddenly wide awake. She raised her hands to rub her face, grunting something incomprehensible.

Ryan snorted. "Wow, I'm sure I saw 'Conference Room' written on the door, not 'Morgue'." He cocked his head to the side, giving her one of his annoying grins.

Mani stayed quiet, staring at him with her large brown eyes. Was he actually trying to be funny? Louis had asked her to give this team a chance, and she really wanted to. Everyone was great. But Wolfe… Wolfe was different. She didn't know why and how, but he was. And it really got on her nerves.

He raised his eyebrows, wondering why she was still staring at him. "What?"

"Who the hell calls a meeting at six in the morning?" Louis mumbled, rubbing his face with his large hands.

Ryan chuckled and went over to the coffee machine. "I'm not sure, but I think Horatio can't sleep for more than five minutes at a time." He filled himself a cup and looked over his shoulder. "Coffee?"

Lou mumbled an incoherent answer and raised his hand up.

"Ok… Mani?"

She felt tempted, but decided against it. "No thanks. I've already had enough caffeine to last me a year. I don't think I'll ever be able to fall asleep again."

Ryan chuckled again and came back to sit on the opposite side of the table. He handed Louis one of the two cups and took a small tentative sip from his. "Why are you so tired anyway? You don't get up before noon in Montreal?"

Mani smirked and shook her head. "Nah, Lou and I went out for dinner last night. We wanted to come back early, but my buddy here wanted to visit Miami at night." She told him, padding her partner on the back. "Let's just say it was a bad idea. I had a hard time getting him out of bed when we got the call."

Ryan grinned and was about to add something but Natalia and Walter walked in the room, interrupting him.

"Good morning everyone!" Natalia said cheerily as she sat the table. "I can't wait for Horatio to tell us what his big plan is."

"Well whatever it is, I'm sure Mani here will have something to say about it." Ryan declared, crossing his arms over his chest.

"What the hell does that mean?" The brunette sneered.

Ryan was about to answer but was interrupted by Eric and Calleigh, closely followed by Horatio.

Mani glared at Ryan before turning her attention on the redhead. That man wasn't helping his case at all.

"Good morning everyone."

Everyone greeted the experienced CSI and waited patiently for him to start.

"Yesterday, we made a very interesting discovery." He paused and pointed in Walter and Eric's direction. "After Mr. Wolfe noticed that the victims from Miami and the victims from Montreal had both been on a cruise trip to the Caribbean, Eric and Walter looked deeper into it." He nodded at Walter, silently asking him to take over.

Walter stood up, lifted the top of his laptop and turned it around so everyone could see the screen, which showed the picture of an enormous cruise ship. "Mr. and Mrs. Clark paid for a cruise on September 21st, for January 20th. They travelled to the Caribbean on a boat called "Pride of the Seas". The travelling agency they dealt with was very cooperative, and let me tell you, this was a whole package deal. This ship is incredible. If I could move to live on it, I would. Open bars, a casino, pools, lounges, spas, fitness center, name it, they got it."

"As for Mr. and Mrs. Montmigny, well they must have had similar tastes. They booked a luxurious cabin on the exact same ship, only their trip was from January 8th to the 18th."

Natalia pointed at the screen and looked at Horatio. "So we got our tie! Both couples went on a cruise trip in the Caribbean, and were travelling on the exact same ship. Maybe that's where they met whoever did this to them."

Horatio nodded his head slowly. "That's what we want to find out. We got the lists of passengers for both trips, but we need to narrow them down. The problem we have now, is that there were more than two thousand passengers and crew members on each cruise. Moreover, the passengers come from all over the state, and some from other countries. All this makes it nearly impossible for questioning."

"So what's our next move?" Mani asked.

"When talking the travel agency, we asked for this specific cruise schedule, and were told that it is leaving once more. In exactly three days, as a matter of fact." He paused, giving his team time to really understand what this meant. "I've decided to send a team on that ship."

Mani's eyes widened, surprised by the news. "Undercover?"

Horatio nodded his head in agreement. "We can't ignore the evident ties between our victims. I talked about it with Walter and we've both come to the conclusion that this cruise must play a big part in our murders. Not only did both couples travel on the same ship, they both were wealthy and had their bank accounts emptied before they were killed. They were murdered for their money." He paused.

"Now, we were able to book a cabin on the ship. The two agents I've chosen will pose as a young wealthy couple, and will mingle with the passengers. They will try to get as much information as possible on everyone susceptible of committing such a crime. We NEED to know if our murderer or murderers picked their victims on that ship. We also need to find out if they are planning to do it again."

"And who's the lucky couple?" Ryan said, asking the question everyone had in mind.

"I had a long conversation over the phone with Mrs. Villeneuve and Mr. Archambault's supervisor last night. We've both decided we still want our two teams to work together on this case." He paused. "We decided Mr. Wolfe and Mrs. Villeneuve would make the most credible couple."

"WHAT?" Mani shouted, eyes wide in surprise. " NO!"

Everyone stared at her, not understanding what her outburst was about.

"Mani…" Louis warned, glaring at her.

"But… but… I can't!" She babbled, looking as if she was about to pass out.

Before she could say anything comprehensible, Louis had grabbed her by the arm and was pulling her out of the room, apologizing to the others as they went. He dragged her a little down the hall, making sure they were out of earshot. "Are you completely crazy?"

Mani opened and closed her mouth a few times, dumbstruck by her partner's sudden outburst. He looked like he was about to grab her by the arms and shake her like a ragged doll. "What…"

"Emmanuelle! Stop acting like a spoiled brat and think about this for a few seconds. This is huge. You will NOT screw this up! All you've been thinking about in the past week is this case. Horatio is giving you the chance to get the bastard who killed them, and you want to pass?"

"No… It's just… I don't know…" She babbled, feeling her face getting hotter.

"Mani, you're going." He announced, crossing his arms.

"I am?"

"Yes, I'm making this decision for you, because you're insane. I don't know what your problem is, but you've got to forget about it. You are going. AND you're going to do EVERYTHING Horatio tells you to do. GOT IT?"

She nodded her head slowly. "Got it." She answered in a small voice. She knew she got on his nerves most of the time, but he'd never talked to her that way. Ever.

"Now let's go back in there." He turned around and started walking back towards the room where everyone was still waiting for them.

"Ok… And Lou?"

Louis stopped and turned around. "Yes, Mani?"

She walked up to him and raised her face up to meet his eyes. "Never tell me what to do again. Got it?" she told him, trying to control her temper.

Lou snorted, but still nodded his head in agreement. "Got it. Until next time."

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_So? Liked it? Hated it? Still needs work? _

_Is Mani too bitchy?_

_Don't worry, she won't be acting like a bitch the whole time they're on that boat… just 98 % of the time. No seriously, I'm going somewhere with this, trust me!_

_PLEASE REVIEW THIS CHAPTER!_


	5. Chapter 4

**Author's note: THANK YOU FOR THE REVIEWS!**

**Fourth chapter... it's FINALLY going somewhere! I hope you all enjoy it!**

**Don't forget to review! Reviews make me smile! :)**

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**Chapter 4: Flight no. 2**

Mani blew a large purple bubble and laid her head back, staring out the small window to her left.

Here she was again, sitting on a freaking plane, flying towards a destination she didn't even want to go to. If only they could've boarded the boat in Miami… but NO, she was never that lucky. The cruise they were getting onto was departing from the port of Boston.

They'd only been on the plane for two hours and she was already growing impatient. She'd tried reading, watching the movie, listening to music… she'd even tried sleeping! But all she could think about was how much she hated flying. Her hands were sweaty, her ears were stuck, her skin was itchy and she was hungry.

She. Hated. Flying.

"Gum?"

She sighed. The man sitting next to her played a large part in why she couldn't wait to get off the plane. She turned her head to glance at him and blew another large bubble before turning her attention back on the window.

Ryan sighed dramatically. "Come on, Mani, you've got to stop."

She looked at him, frowning in confusion. "Stop what?"

"You're acting like a princess." Ryan told her, knowing his words would probably put her in an even worse mood.

"I'm not acting like a princess." She shot back, her frown deepening.

He snorted, raising his eyebrows in disbelief. "Oh, you're not?"

"No."

"You've been ignoring me and treating me like shit since the moment we boarded plane." He reminded her.

She rolled her eyes at him. "I haven't been treating you like shit."

"But you're ignoring me."

Mani nodded her head and gave him a tight grin. "Yes."

"Well, stop." This woman might have been the most annoying person he'd ever met; he still had to work with her. And without her willing participation, this whole undercover mission would be a complete disaster.

She blew another bubble, still grinning. "Why?"

"We're married." he answered, quite proud of his answer.

"Oh no, not yet. I've still got three hours of freedom before I have to be married. And I'd like to spend them ignoring you." She gave him a small wink before turning her attention back on the window.

As much as he could feel his temper rising, Ryan wouldn't let it go. If she wanted to play that game, she'd met her perfect match.

"What have I done to you?" he asked her, making her turn her attention on him again.

She rolled her eyes at him, shaking her head in disbelief. "Nothing." She answered, wanting this conversation to end.

Ryan raised his eyebrows and chuckled bitterly. "Well if this is the way you always act… Wow, I wouldn't want to see how you'd treat me if I HAD done something wrong." He watched as Mani's eyes turned a darker shade, knowing he'd finally struck a nerve. Ignoring the small voice in his head telling him to back off, he decided to push her a little bit more. "I hope you're a good actress."

"Why?" She grumbled.

"You know we'll have to act like a couple the moment we start this mission. So as much as you dislike me, you'll have to make sure to AT LEAST look like you like me a little."

There. NOW he had her complete attention.

Mani threw her head back and groaned in irritation, not loud enough for the other passengers to hear, but enough so she'd sound like a twelve year old teenager. "I know all that! Why are you repeating everything we've been told like, a hundred times? When we're on the ship, we'll be the most perfect, cutest, cheesiest, annoying couple on the face of the earth. But can I PLEASE have a little more time to act like MYSELF before I have to become what unnerves me the most?"

Ryan chuckled. "No."

"Why can't you just leave me alone?" She mumbled, closing her eyes in exasperation.

He shrugged, enjoying it way too much. "I don't feel like it."

"You're annoying."

Ryan laughed at her poor answer, definitely liking having the upper hand. "Well, I'm annoying 'cause I'm bored. And I'm bored 'cause you won't talk to me. Stop ignoring me and I'll stop acting like a prick."

Mani lifted her hand up, rubbing her eyes tiredly. "No wonder you're still single." She groaned.

He chuckled. "What a coincidence! I was actually thinking the exact same thing about you." He shot back, giving her one of his cocky smiles.

The brunette glared at him but kept her mouth shut, knowing he'd most likely have an answer to whatever she'd tell him anyway.

She hated Lou for putting her in this position. If it hadn't been for him, she would've probably been able to change her boss' mind about her working undercover with Wolfe. Lou could've gone undercover with someone in their team. She was certain he would've loved playing house with Natalia. He spent all his time staring at her best attributes the second she was in a room with him.

Of course, she was just lying to herself. As much as she disliked Wolfe, she would've never let anyone keep her away from solving this case. All she could think about was getting the murderer. And if she'd have to act like a married couple with Ryan, well so be it.

She sighed in defeat. "Ok, fine! What do you want to talk about?"

Ryan laid back in his seat and shrugged. "I don't know. Tell me about yourself."

She snorted. "You've got to tell me where to start, 'cause there's a lot to tell."

"Why are you single? There's no chance a gorgeous woman like you can stay alone for a long time."

She shrugged nonchalantly, ignoring the small giddy feeling she got from his compliment. "Oh, I don't know… Maybe I'm too strong headed for most men?"

Ryan opened his mouth in shock, playing along. "What? I don't know what you're talking about. Me are so stupid."

"AREN'T THEY?" Mani chuckled genuinely. "What else do you want to know?"

"Tell me about your life in Montreal."

"Ok… Born and raised in Montreal. My dad is a company representative and my brother just graduated from college in engineering. I live in a two-bedroom apartment, I have an obese cat named Batman, I absolutely love snow, and the smell of eggs makes me feel like throwing up."

"What about your mom?"

Mani's smile wavered. "What about her?"

He raised his eyebrows, taken aback by her sudden mood change. "You told me about your dad and your brother, but said nothing about your mother."

"She's dead. She was in a car accident when I was eleven."

Oops. "Sorry."

She shrugged. "It's fine."

"Ok." There was an awkward silence between them for a few seconds, before Ryan decided to try and keep their conversation going. "Well? Don't you want to know about me?" He asked her, wanting to lighten the mood.

Mani shook her head. "Not really. I already know what I need to know. You're Ryan Gordon, you're 32 years old. You own two very successful restaurants in Boston. You make loads of cash. You're married to Emmanuelle Gordon, who is the perfect wife." She wrinkled her nose at that last information, but kept going. "You have a huge house, three cars and an enormous pool. You buy me tons of expensive jewelry and clothes, making me the happiest woman on the face of the earth." She batted her eye lashes, smiling like a perfect wife.

Ryan snorted. "That's our cover story."

"Yep, it is. And frankly, that's all I need to know."

Ryan laughed and shook his head. "You're unbelievable. You really know how to make people like you."

"I'm not paid to be liked. I'm paid to do my job well." She told him, giving him a small wink. "And I'm really good at it."

He grinned and brought his face closer to her. "I never doubted it." He whispered.

Mani smiled a real smile this time, and turned her head to stare out the window once more, hiding the light blush that had crept to her cheeks. Wolfe acting like an ass was easy to deal with. But flirty Wolfe was…. destabilizing.

She glanced at him and noticed he'd decided to turn his attention on the movie again. She laid her head back and closed her eyes, still smiling. He was annoying, but at least now, maybe she'd be able to get some sleep. She would never admit it, but talking with him had helped her think about something else than her hatred for flying.

He'd been able to do something even her partner had never been able to do.

"So… you named your cat BATMAN?"

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_So? DON'T FORGET TO REVIEW!_


	6. Chapter 5

**Author's note: This is going a little too slow for my liking, but I'm really trying to make this story as logical as possible... I'm not a suspense writer. **

**THANK YOU to those who reviewed my chapters so far! I love you, and someday, when I win a billion dollars, you'll be rewarded. LOL**

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**Chapter 5: Introducing Mr. and Mrs. Gordon**

Ryan sighed and glanced at his watch for what felt like the hundredth time.

Women were all the same.

"Mani!" He called, groaning in frustration when he got no answer.

He scratched his eyebrow nervously, letting his eyes travel around their cabin once more. It was amazing, even better than on the pictures they'd seen. It was furnished with a large king sized bed, a small sofa, a plasma screen TV, a dining table and a good sized bathroom. They also had a personal balcony, where two long chairs and a small table were set up. Everything was stylish and classy.

Ryan looked towards the bathroom when he heard movement coming from inside, but the door stayed closed. He sat on the bed, forcing himself to take long deep breaths.

They'd only boarded the ship a few hours ago, and his doubts about the two of them getting along were only growing stronger. She was a good actress, there was no denying it. She'd started acting like the perfect wife the moment they'd stepped onto the ship, just like she'd promised. She'd smiled all the time, held his hand, let him put his hand on the small of her back and whisper in her ear.

But the problem was her eyes. She was a good actress, but a bad liar. He could see everything in her eyes. Her smiles never once reached her eyes, except for a few times on the plane when he'd made her laugh for real.

Mani had gone back to acting like her delightful self the moment they'd stepped foot in the cabin. He'd kept his cool and decided to give her some space. He knew she needed time to adjust to being his "wife". But they simply didn't have that time. So they'd sat on opposite sides of the room and had spent a couple of hours studying their documents again. Then, they'd started getting prepared for their first dinner with the other passengers.

That's when she'd told him she had to get ready and then locked herself in the bathroom. She'd been in there for a billion years. "We're gonna be late!"

"Alright, alright, don't get your panties tied up in a bunch." She shouted as she opened the door, still trying to put one of her earrings on.

Ryan opened his mouth to retort but was left speechless as his eyes took her in. She was wearing a black strapless dress that reached her knees. The dress was tight enough to show her gorgeous curves and shimmered when the light hit it in the right angle. Her legs were toned and shapely. She'd let her long dark hair down, the soft curls framing her face. She wasn't wearing too much make up, but just enough so that her deep brown eyes popped out. She looked like a very stylish woman, but her freckles reminded him of her childish attitude.

"Why are you staring at me?" She asked him, frowning.

"I'm trying to see what took you so long."

"I had to shave my legs." She wrinkled her nose. "Winters in Canada can get REALLY cold."

Ryan grinned and shook his head. She really had an answer for everything. "Erasing image from my mind…. Done! So, are you ready to do this?"

"Get out of this cabin? Definitely."

"No. I meant becoming Mrs. Ryan Gordon."

She snorted. "I don't think I'll ever be ready for that." She sighed and cocked her head. "But ready or not, I guess I don't really have the choice anymore, right? Let's get going."

Ryan stopped her as she was about to open the door. "Aren't you forgetting something?"

"What?"

He gave her a little wink. "Well I'm not letting my wife go out to dinner without some expansive jewelry."

Mani rolled her eyes at him and sighed dramatically. "Almost forgot about that."

Ryan turned around and opened a flat square box, taking out a gorgeous diamond necklace, with matching earrings. "Come here."

She reluctantly walked over to him and turned around. She lifted her curly hair to give him better access, letting him put the necklace around her neck. She then took off her old earrings and replaced them with the expansive ones that matched the necklace.

She turned around and gave him a tight grin, looking slightly tense. "It's weird knowing this necklace alone could pay my rent for a year."

Ryan chuckled and winked. "And we're not done." He reached for something in his left pocket and took out a small black velvet box. "We're forgetting the most important rock."

Mani's eyes grew wide as Ryan opened the small box, showing her the most amazing diamond ring she'd ever seen. "What happens if I lose it?" she asked, unable to take her eyes off the ring.

He took her hand and put the ring on her finger. "Don't lose it." He put the velvet box on the table behind him and gave her a confident grin. "Let's go, sweetheart." He told her, offering her his arm.

The brunette forced a smile to her lips and wrapped her arm around Ryan's. As much as she found him annoying, right now, he was the only person she could count on except herself. She felt more nervous than she'd even been, and knowing he was right there with her was the only thing making her do all this. "Let's go!"

Ryan led her out of their cabin, mentally repeating all the information he'd learnt. They HAD to be perfect for all this to work.

They both stayed quiet as they made their way to the dining area, smiling politely at the other passengers they crossed. They could hear the entertaining music and chatter coming from the large room as they approached the entrance. They stepped inside and paused to take a look around. Many couples were already sitting at their tables, sipping on costly drinks and talking excitingly. They'd already decided to sit in the middle of the crowded room, the best spot if they wanted to make sure to be noticed if someone was there to find them.

Mani squeezed Ryan's hand and lent over to whisper in his ear. "Here we go, honey." She murmured, lightly kissing his lips when he turned his head to look at her.

Ryan hid his shock perfectly and smiled at her before leading her to their table. They thanked the woman who'd brought them there and sat down, smiling at the other passengers sitting close to them.

"Good evening! My name is Vincent, and I'll be your waiter for the evening. May I get you something to drink?"

"Sure! I'll just have a glass of red wine. Honey?"

"I'll just have my usual, baby."

Ryan gave her a tight grin, cocking his head slightly. "Right! The lady here will be drinking red wine as well."

Mani smiled brightly at the waiter and mouthed a thank you. She then turned her attention on him, ignoring his accusing eyes as she extended her hand towards him. "I hate red wine." She whispered, still smiling at him.

Ryan took her hand and leaned towards her, forcing what he wished was a loving smile onto his lips. "No surprises, got it?" he whispered.

The brunette imitated his move, moving a little closer so that they would look like a couple whispering sweet nothings to each other. "I never promise anything. Ever."

Ryan let out a long breath through his nose and lifted her hand up to his lips. He planted a soft kiss to her skin and brought her hand back down, not letting it go.

"You two are adorable."

They both turned their heads towards the voice, noticing a slightly older couple sitting very close to them.

"You're newlyweds, aren't you?"

Ryan laughed and shook his head. "Well, as a matter of fact, no, we aren't. We've been married for a year."

"I would've sworn you were just married. How about you, George?"

Her husband rolled his eyes at her, nodding his head in agreement just to humor her.

The woman, who looked like she was in her early 50's, gave them a warm smile. "My name is Lisa Faulkner and this is my husband, George."

"Ryan Gordon." He turned his warm hazel eyes on his partner. "This is my wife, Emmanuelle."

"You can call me Mani."

"Are you two on this cruise for a special occasion?" She asked, most probably hoping for a cute romantic answer.

Ryan glanced at Mani and cleared his throat. The mission was officially starting now. "Well, we got married a year ago, but instead of going on one honeymoon, we decided to go on many different trips throughout the year."

Mani squeezed his hand, taking over. "I absolutely love travelling. We heard about this cruise and decided it was something we both wanted to share together."

"You too are so cute."

She smiled. "He's so busy all the time, we need these trips to get real quality time together."

Before long, Ryan and Mani were deep in conversation with the nice couple, reciting everything they'd been told to learn. They told them about Ryan's restaurants, about how much he'd gone from working as a waiter to owning the most popular restaurants in Boston. Mani made a joke, telling them the first thing that had attracted her to him was his money.

Thankfully, Lisa was a very curious woman. She asked them one question after the other, wanting to know everything about her two new companions. Georges, on the other hand, seemed to wish he could close his eyes and reappear someplace else.

At the end of dinner, Mani and Ryan had bid them good night and had left to go back to their cabin. As soon as Ryan shut the door, Mani threw herself on the bed, moaning. "Oh my GOD, I thought this night would never end."

Ryan chuckled and loosened his tie. "I think we could never have been luckier."

The brunette lifted herself on her elbows and raised her eyebrows. "Lucky? I don't think that woman took a breath the whole time we were there."

He shook his head and sat on the bed to take his shoes off. "No, I meant we were lucky to have met the person with the biggest pie hole on the whole cruise ship. I'm sure this time tomorrow, half the passengers and half the crew will know something about us." He stood and took off his suit jacket.

Mani sat straighter and kicked her shoes off, frowning. She looked around the room, and then at the bed, and then at the small sofa. "We have a problem."

Ryan turned around, frowning. "What?"

"There's only one bed."

"I don't know what you're thinking, Mani, but there's no chance I'm sleeping on that sofa for ten days. I may not be Michael Jordan, but I'm not a midget." He pointed at the bed. "That bed has plenty room for both of us to sleep in it and still have to yell at each other to be understood."

Mani groaned and crawled off the bed. Part of her wanted to fight for the bef, but the other part was too tired to start. That second part won. "Fine. I sleep on the right side." She grabbed her night bag and locked herself in the bathroom once more.

"Sure, sweetheart." he muttered.

XXXXX

_SOOOO? ME WANTS REVIEWS! :)_


	7. Chapter 6

**Author's note: Thank you SO MUCH for the reviews! I hope you like this new chapter! **

**DON'T FORGET TO TELL ME WHAT YOU THOUGHT!**

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**Chapter 6**

Mani let out a long tired sigh and opened her eyes slowly, giving up. She turned her head to the side and glanced at the clock beside her. At least she'd been able to get a few hours of sleep. As tired as she felt, she was unable to find sleep again.

She straightened her head and stared at the white ceiling. She thought about the people they'd left behind. She wondered if Lou was having a good time working with the other CSI's. Somehow, she knew he was fine. He was such a great person, he got along with everyone. He was loved in Miami, just as he was in Montreal.

Montreal. She let her mind drift to her dad and brother. She'd called them both before boarding the plane in Miami to tell them they'd be unable to reach her for a few days. It wasn't as if they would've called anyway. She often tried to remember the exact moment they'd started growing apart. She should've never let it happen.

Who was she kidding; none of it was her fault. She was so young when it happened. Her dad should've been the one to hold his family together.

Mani lifted a hand up to her face and rubbed her eyes, willing the thoughts out of her head. Now simply wasn't the time to start a guilt trip about her family. She was here to work.

She sighed and turned her head to her right. Ryan was still deeply asleep, his face hidden in his pillow. His hair was sticking in every direction and his lips were slightly parted, making him look a lot younger. He was actually extremely cute.

Mani didn't quite know what to think of this man. One minute he was acting like a complete jackass and the second, he was nice and charming. But what stood out the most now was how professional he was. Maybe she should follow Louis' advice and try to be friendlier. 'Being nice won't kill you.' He'd told her.

She rolled her eyes at the voice inside her head and got out of bed, trying not to wake Ryan. She tip toed to her bag and grabbed her toiletries before locking herself in the bathroom. If she couldn't sleep, might as well get this day started.

She took a long relaxing shower, letting the hot water wash away her tiredness. She then dried herself quickly, pulled on a white fluffy robe and untangled her curly hair. When she finally came out of the bathroom, she noticed Ryan hadn't moved a muscle. It was still too early to wake him, so she decided to go sit on the balcony and enjoy the amazing view.

That's where Ryan found her when he finally woke up, about half an hour later.

"Mornin'" he mumbled as he joined her. He was still clad in his boxers and white t-shirt, his eyes still puffy from sleep. "How long have you been awake?" He asked, letting out a small groan as he sat on the second long chair.

Mani shrugged her shoulders and gave him a small grin. "About an hour and a half."

"It's 5:30."

She nodded her head. "I know."

"Didn't sleep well? Did I keep you up?" He chuckled. "Was I snoring or something?"

She shook her head. "No. I just have a hard time sleeping in unknown beds." She told him, tucking a now dry curl behind her ear. "It's fine. I'm used to it."

"Alright. I'm gonna take a shower and then we could get some breakfast. I'm sure coffee will do you a lot of good."

Mani nodded her head, even if she already knew caffeine wouldn't change anything. She watched him stand up and go back inside the cabin. She waited a few seconds and decided to get dressed. She had a feeling they'd spend a lot of time discovering the boat and its passengers today, so she chose to wear comfortable, yet stylish clothes. Most of the clothes she'd been given for this mission weren't her style, but she had to look the part. She picked out a light white summer dress and a pair of white sandals. She got dressed and chose a bright red necklace and matching earrings to go with her outfit. Her hair was a complete mess because of the wind, so she decided to wear it in a ponytail.

She was giving her reflection one last look when Ryan finally came out of the bathroom, showered and dressed.

"You clean up fast!"

"Well not everyone needs to take two hours to get ready, Mani." He reminded her.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, whatever." She waved him off. "I'm hungry."

"So let's get some food into you." He told her. "By the way, you look great."

"Shut up." She grumbled.

"What! It's a compliment!"

Mani wrinkled her nose uncomfortably. "Well don't… compliment me."

He shook his head, grinning. She was unbelievable. "Ok, let me try this again. You look absolutely horrifying."

Mani rolled her eyes at him. "Can't you just keep your mouth shut?"

He chuckled. "I'm afraid I can't."

"I liked you better when you were asleep."

"And I liked YOU better when I was asleep."

Mani sighed dramatically and walked over to the door. "Let's just go." She opened the door and walked out without even waiting for him.

Still laughing, Ryan locked the door behind him and followed her quickly.

They went back to the dining area, making sure to smile and greet everyone they met on their way to their table. People might think they were trying to be overly friendly, but their goal was to stand out and get people to notice them. If it meant flashing everyone a smile and showing off, well they would do it.

The couple had a tasty breakfast, filled with exotic fruit, and then decided to explore the ship, wanting to spot the most interesting places. They saw the gym, the spa and the casino. They visited a few shops, making sure to stop and look at the most expansive things. In one of the shops, Ryan made her get a bikini, reminding her she'd get to spend a lot of time working on her tan in the next few days. Not wanting to cause a scene, she'd forced a smile to her lips and went along with it, choosing one of the most expansive bathing suits she could find.

As they were walking by the large pool on one of the decks, they spotted Mrs. Faulkner, who seemed in an animated conversation with two other women. She was talking to them but without never really looking at them, wanting to know everything that was going on around her. That's why she waved them over the moment she saw them, smiling excitingly.

"Ryan! Mani!"

They both greeted her and smiled amicably to her two female companions.

"How was your first night on the ship?"

"It was great! We slept like babies."Mani told her instantly, not wanting Ryan to tell her the truth.

"Of course you did!" Lisa gave them a suggestive wink, which Mani ignored. The older woman pointed at her friends. "The one thing I love the most about coming on these cruises is the interesting people we get to meet. Mani, Ryan, these are my new friends, Joanna and Rachel."

They both shook the two women's hand, smiling politely. "Hello, nice to meet you."

Lisa jumped in before anyone could say anything else. "If you'd like to join us, we decided that this was a perfect day to spend next to the pool. Are you interested? And, don't worry Ryan, you won't be the only male around here."

"Hey, I get to spend the afternoon with four gorgeous women. I wasn't about to complain!" Ryan told them, letting his charm do the work.

"The men are planning to try the surf park later. You should join them, I'm sure you could have a great time!" She wrapped her arm around Mani, squeezing her. "We'll take good care of your wife."

Ryan had to keep himself from laughing as he saw the look of sheer horror that crossed Mani's face. "That's a great idea!"

Mani grimaced as Lisa squeezed her even tighter into her, who seemed quite pleased with Ryan's answer. "We'll get to share some girl talk."

"Yay!" Mani exclaimed, an uneasy smile plastered to her face.

Ryan chuckled and took Mani's hand, helping out of the woman's tight embrace. "We'll meet you here after lunch, is that alright? We'd like to spend a little more time… together."

"No problem! We'll see you later then!"

Still holding hands, they walked away from the three women, much to Mani's relief, and went straight back to their cabin. They Ryan opened the door for her and let her walk in first, smirking. He knew what was coming.

Mani turned around, hands on her hips. "I'm not okay with it."

"What? Why not? This is going too well for you to NOT be okay with it."

"What do you mean 'it's going too well'? You're not the one who will have to spend the next few hours listening to women talking about fur and perfume!"

"Mani! This woman has the biggest mouth on the face of the EARTH! I'm sure she's already told these women all about us."

She snorted. "Yeah well, don't get excited too fast. We've only been here for about twenty four hours. We have a lot more people to meet before we start focusing our research on these three."

"You're right." He glanced down at his watch, realizing it was already time for lunch. "Do you want to go back to the food court for lunch or you want to stay here?"

"Let's order something. We have to talk about a few things before we go back out for our afternoon of _fun_."

Ryan nodded his head, agreeing with her. They ordered their lunch, a shrimp salad for her and a sandwich for him. They decided to sit inside and go over the murderers profile once more before joining the others.

It was almost an hour later when Ryan through his file back in his bag. "Alright! I think we're ready."

"I agree. Now go put on your new bikini." He told her, wiggling his eyebrows.

She scowled at him, grabbed the bag roughly and went straight for the bathroom. "Five hundred freaking dollars for a bikini." She grumbled, shutting the door behind her.

Ryan chuckled, shaking his head as he started taking his own clothes off. That woman was definitely starting to grow on him. Yes, she could be a total bitch, but underneath it all, he knew she wasn't like that. She was trying to act like the all strong, independent woman. Not only was she good at it, but most people went for it. He, on the other hand, could also see through her game.

He quickly changed in his swim trunks and a bright blue t-shirt. He was slipping on his sandals when Mani finally walked out of the bathroom, wearing a red sun dress over her strapless bikini. Without even looking in his direction, she went over to the table, grabbed her pair of large black sunglasses and hid her face behind them. "Let's get this show on the road." She grumbled moodily, before making her way to the door.

Ryan sighed and tilted his head, watching her leave. He seemed to be doing a lot of that lately. And MAN was it a great view.

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_? Loved it? Hated it? Missed something? LET ME KNOW!_


	8. Chapter 7

_**Author's note: OMG thank you SO MUCH for the reviews everyone! I've been getting really nice reviews, which makes me WANT to keep having fun with this fic! I will try my BEST to make you ALL happy!**_

_**And on to the seventh chapter. Have fun!**_

_**And don't forget to review! Tanya loves reviews!**_

**Chapter 7: Mani's Nightmarish Day**

'_I'm going to jump off this ship._' Mani thought, as she looked longingly at the ocean. She was a good swimmer, she would make it. She'd just have to be patient and wait for the next boat to pick her up.

She sighed as loud high-pitched laughter interrupted her thoughts, bringing her back to her harsh reality. She drank what was left of her fruity drink and forced herself to laugh along.

The ocean never looked so inviting.

She knew she had to focus on what these women were saying, and also had to participate as much as she could, but it was the most difficult thing she'd ever had to do. These women were so shallow and vain, she felt sick just listening to them.

Ryan and Mani had gone their seperate ways as soon as they'd joined the others. Lisa had pulled her towards the other women, telling Ryan to join the men at the surf park. Mani had watched her partner walking away and had let the older woman drag her to her own personal nightmare.

Right now, Ryan was surfing, when she had to get a tan as she listened to these women's unstoppable chatter about hair and purses.

She would have chosen diarrhea before this in a heartbeat.

"What about you, Mani?"

"Huh?"

"Your skin looks absolutely flawless. What do you use?"

'_Where's my gun when I need it?'_ She grinned and waved her hand nonchalantly. "I don't really know. I go to the spa every week and get these creams… I don't even know how much they cost, but what I DO know is that they work! But hey, Ryan tells me I can get anything I want." MAN she sounded like a princess. She hated it.

Kim, another woman who'd joined their little improvised group, chuckled. "Ryan really sounds like my type of man. Too bad he's married."

Mani grinned but stayed quiet, not trusting the words that would come out of her mouth at that comment.

"Well, make sure you find the name of these creams." Lisa told her. "I'm afraid my skin isn't what it used to be."

"I will!" she answered with fake enthusiasm. Her eyes went to the large pool, which was very inviting. "Hey, I'm gonna go for a swim, cool down a bit." She stood up, took off her short dress and quickly went to the pool before anyone could follow her. She dove in the warm water, feeling better instantly. She swam underwater, enjoying the silence surrounding her. If only she could stay there for the next couple of hours.

When she resurfaced, she was surprised to see that two men had joined them, one of which was Ryan. Without his shirt on. Wet. Looking extremely good. Too good.

Shaking herself mentally, Mani started swimming towards them slowly. Ryan must've been asking about her, since she saw Kim and Rachel point at the pool behind him. He turned his head towards her and smiled. "Hey!" He walked over to the side of the pool and bent down to her level.

"Hey yourself!" She answered, smiling widely.

"Having a good time?" He asked her.

She nodded her head. "SURE! The girls and I were having a great conversation about face creams. It was SO INTERESTING, I had to take a breather." She whispered to him, making sure their companions wouldn't be able to hear.

Ryan chuckled and wrinkled his nose. "That bad?"

"Worse."

"What are you two talking about?" They heard Lisa call from behind, loud enough for the whole deck to hear. She waited for them to look at her and smiled mischievously. "Ryan, dear, Mani hasn't stopped telling all of us what a perfect husband you are."

Ryan glanced at the brunette, grinning. "You weren't bragging, were you?"

Mani opened her mouth to answer but was interrupted by Rachel. "Oh NO! WE were the ones asking her all the questions. I think Mani's a little shy."

From the look he saw on Mani's face, Ryan knew there was another reason for her silence. He chuckled and straightened himself up. "I'm sure it will all disappear when we all get to know each other better."

Mani smiled and pushed herself away from the side of the pool. She needed to get away again. And since Ryan was back, he could do some of the talking. She turned around and swam lazily, letting the water calm her nerves.

She still had eight days to go through.

She reached the opposite side of the pool and turned to look at them again, noticing a few other men had joined the group. The group seemed to be talking animatedly about something. Then, the women all stood from their long chairs and left the pool area, their companions close behind. Ryan gave them one last smile and turned his attention on her. He threw his t-shirt on the chair she'd been using and swiftly dove in the water.

He gave a few powerful strokes underwater and joined her, surfacing right in front of her.

He grinned and shook his hair, splashing her. "Hi! How's my gorgeous wife?"

"She's annoyed, tired, and a little sun burned." She answered, pouting.

Ryan chuckled. "Want me to rub some lotion on you?" he asked her, smiling cheekily.

"No thanks." She answered, rolling her eyes at his cockiness. "Had a good time with the boys?"

"It was great! I never would've thought I'd get to surf on a boat."

She gave him a tight grin, not even trying to hide her jealousy. "Thank you for rubbing it in. Got anything interesting on them?"

He shook his head. "Not yet. They're all successful and rich, if that's what you want to know."

"Well I already knew that. That's all these women have talked about the whole afternoon."

"I thought all they talked about were facial products."

She gave him a tight grin. "And it was SO enlightening."

"Well, you might get the chance to continue this conversation this evening!"

She scowled at him. "What?"

"We're having dinner with them."

"Why?" She almost shreiked. To say she wasn't pleased with the idea was an understatement.

"Because they're exactly the type of victims our murderers are looking for. And so are we."

_'I hate you.'_ "Great." She mumbled, moving to go around him. She swam towards the other side of the pool, where her stuff was still waiting for her on the chair.

"Where are you going? You don't want to stay in the water with me?" He asked, giving her a little pout.

"No." She told him, without even looking in his direction.

"I've missed you."

"I didn't."

"You look hot in a bikini."

"Shut up."

He laughed and slowly started following her. He couldn't keep himself from watching her as she slowly climbed out of the pool. He gulped, watching her dripping wet skin as she walked to her towel and wrapped it around herself.

"I'm going back to the cabin. You coming?" She asked him, irritated.

'_I'd love to._' He cleared his throat and shook his head. "Nah, I think I'm gonna do some laps. I'll join you later." Yes. Swimming would do him a lot of good.

XXXXX

Ryan threw his head back, chugging what was left of his drink. He would never admit it to her, but Mani was right. These people were the most boring people he'd ever had to spend time with. He almost wished they were the type of people who had nothing to talk about. No, these people were quite the opposite. They couldn't seem to be able to keep their mouth shut. All they did was go on and on about their success, each one of them trying to look better than the other.

Staying in character was turning out to be a lot more difficult than he'd thought. They'd been with them for hours now, and he simply couldn't take it anymore.

Ryan laughed and nodded his head at something Mark had said, not really caring anymore. He turned his eyes to look at Mani, who was sitting a few seats away from him, with the group of women. He knew the smile on her face wasn't from what these women were talking about, but from the numerous drinks she'd had.

He knew she was in this mission all the way, but he guessed she'd had more than enough for the day.

"Would you like another drink, Mr. Gordon?"

Ryan tore his eyes away from Mani and looked up at the waiter, who was patiently waiting for his answer. "Thank you, but I think I'm gonna pass, Vincent." He winked at him and lifted his chin towards his partner. "I think Mrs. Gordon has had enough too."

Vincent glanced at the brunette, who was laughing like crazy at something Lisa had said, and grinned. "I think you might be right, sir."

The CSI laughed and nodded his head in agreement. He gave his empty glass to Vincent as he stood up from his seat, announcing he was going back to his cabin. He walked over to Mani, who was avidly emptying her drink.

Mani's face lit up when she saw him approaching. "Hey, baby!" she said in a slightly drunken voice.

He grinned and bent down to her level. "Are you ready to go back to the cabin?" He whispered into her ear.

Mani nodded her head eagerly, her eyes wide. She grabbed his hand and let him pull her with him. They bid everyone a good night and, before they all had the chance to try to change their mind, and left the room quickly.

They walked quietly for a few minutes, until Ryan couldn't hold it in anymore. "I can't believe you actually got drunk on an undercover mission."

"I'm not drunk." She answered, pouting. She rolled her eyes childishly at the look Ryan sent her. "Well you would've gotten drunk too if you'd had to spend the whole day with these women."

"Well I spent the whole day with these women's husbands, and it wasn't that fun either."

Mani's smile completely disappeared. "Anyway, I still don't think we're looking in the right place." She muttered moodily.

Ryan opened the door to their cabin and let her in. "Well I still think hanging out with the wealthiest people on the ship is our best chance of finding something." He let the door close behind him and crossed his arms over his chest. "You getting drunk is certainly NOT going to help."

Mani groaned. "Ryan, grand master CSI, knows EVERYTHING!" She shouted in angrily. "Well, you know what? From now on, you can make ALL the decisions, and I'll just follow you like a little puppy, if that's what you want." Furious, she threw her shoes off and reached behind her back to unzip her dress. "Right now, if you don't mind, I'd like to go to bed and get some sleep. Is that ok with you?" The dress fell to the floor, leaving her standing in a black lace bra and matching panties.

Ryan, who'd been quietly watching her throw her fit, sucked in a breath. Mani was standing in front of him with her hands on her hips, nearly naked. He stayed quiet, unable utter a single comprehensible word. The brunette then groaned furiously and went straight to her side of the bed, hiding under the covers without another word.

He stood there for a few seconds and then went to the bathroom, needing to calm himself down. He locked the door behind him and let out the breath he'd been holding. Mani Villeneuve was, without a doubt, the most irritating, childish woman on the face of the earth.

As much as he felt drained from the long day he'd had, he decided that what he needed right now was a shower. A long, relaxing shower. "If I go to bed now, I'll strangle her." He mumbled as he took his clothes off.

However, even the hot water didn't succeed in relaxing him. He hated her. _'No you don't.'_ his mind told him. Ok, he disliked her passionately. He couldn't wait for the mission to be over. When he got out of the shower, his temper had calmed down a bit, but he still had no idea if he'd be able to sleep. He got out of the bathroom and patted through the now dark cabin to the bed. He settled his head on his pillow and let out a long sigh, willing his body and mind to relax.

But knowing the brunette was lying right next to him, dressed in only her sexy lingerie, was doing nothing to help him relax.

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_SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO? Liked it? Hated it? Still nothing happened... They're attracted to each other, there's no denying it... but are they going to act on it? Or will they kill each other before anything happens? You'll just have to keep reading!_

_REVIEWS! XXX_


	9. Chapter 8

_**Author's note : OMG Thank you SO MUCH for your reviews! Suspense is REALLY difficult to write so... knowing you've been enjoying my story so far just makes me SO HAPPY! Please keep these reviews coming!**_

_**So on to the next chapter! Still nothing has happened between Mani and Ryan... will it happen? I don't know... nah, kidding. I'm a romantic gal! Sorry to those of you who don't want the two of them to get together... **_

_**Again, enjoy, and don't forget to review!**_

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**Chapter 8 : Making Friends**

3 :30 AM.

It was 3 :30 in the morning, and she couldn't sleep. She couldn't remember exactly when she'd gone to bed, but she knew she hadn't been able to sleep for a long time. As much as she felt tired, her insomnia had kicked in, and she knew already she'd never be able to fall asleep again tonight.

The fact that she felt like crap wasn't helping either.

Aware that waking Ryan wouldn't help her case, she climbed out of bed quietly and padded to the dresser where she'd put her clothes. She grabbed her swimsuit and her black track suit and went in the bathroom to change. She got dressed and pulled her hair back in a tight ponytail. Satisfied, she walked out of the bathroom and left the cabin without Ryan noticing. If she wasn't going to sleep, at least she'd do something productive with her time.

The hallways were completely empty as she made her way towards the large inside pool. She reached it quickly, pushed the doors open and turned on only one of the lights, enjoying the calming feel the darkened room brought her. She undressed and threw her clothes on the nearest chair, before diving head first into the warm water.

She absolutely loved swimming. Of all the work outs she'd tried, doing laps was the only one which could make her forget about everything. She loved the feeling of sliding through the water, the way all her muscles worked together. She could focus on nothing but the rhythm of her powerful strokes and her breathing. She could feel the stress leaving her body as she sliced through the water.

Mani had lost track of how many laps she'd swam when bright light surrounded the water around her, surprising her. She stopped and lifted her head up.

"Oh! I'm so sorry 'mam, I didn't know someone was in here." The intruder apologized, looking extremely nervous.

She gave the young man a small smile, recognizing the waiter who'd been serving them since their arrival on the ship. "It's okay, Vincent."

"Mrs. Gordon! I'm a little surprised to see you here at this time on night!" he exclaimed, taking a couple of steps towards the pool.

Mani grinned and swam slowly towards the side. "Well, I couldn't sleep, so I decided to do some laps." She folded her arms over the side of the pool and lifted her chin towards what he was holding. "Seems you had the same idea."

Vincent glanced down at the towel in his hands and nodded his head. "Yes… well… we aren't allowed to use the pools, but I sometimes sneak in during the night, when no one's around." He explained, still sounding nervous.

She nodded her head and gave him a little wink. "It's ok Vincent, I won't tell anyone."

He seemed to relax instantly. "Thank you, Mrs. Gordon."

"Please, it's four in the morning. You can call me Mani." She told him, rolling her eyes.

He nodded his head, smiling. "Of course." Somehow, she knew he'd never dare call her by her first name. "So, are you enjoying the cruise?" he asked her.

"Yeah! There are a lot of fun things to do and interesting people to meet." She lied, trying her best to sound truthful. She wasn't here to have fun anyway. "You must love working here."

"Well it does have its advantages." He smiled sadly. "But I have to spend a lot of time away from my wife."

She lifted her eyebrows, curious. "You're married? Do you have any children?"

Vincent grinned and shook his head. "No, not yet. My wife and I want to buy a house before we extend our family. This job is well-paid, and it's about the only reason why I keep it."

Mani nodded her head. She felt like it'd been a decade since she'd spoken with someone real and simple. "You really miss her."

"I do."He sighed. "You're lucky to have the chance to spend such great moments with Mr. Gordon."

'_Great moments.'_ She thought bitterly, forcing a smile to her lips. "I know."

They both stayed silent for a second, probably both in deep thoughts. Mani glanced up at the clock and sighed. She'd already left the cabin for more than an hour. "I think I'll get back to bed. Hopefully, I'll be able to sleep a little before the day starts." She pulled herself out of the water and smiled at Vincent, who handed her his towel instantly. "Thank you."

"I'll get another one." He grinned. "Sleep well, Mrs. Mani."

She smiled and watched him as he walked to the pool and dove gracefully in the water. She sighed and dried herself off with the fluffy towel, and then pulled her track suit back on. Before leaving, she went to the women's changing room and found a new towel, which she brought over to the chair for him.

She slowly made her way back to her cabin, grabbing a warm muffin from a small café as she walked passed it. Swimming had helped her evacuate a lot of frustration and stress from the past few days, but had also left her revitalized. She just wished her work out could've made her sleepy.

It was almost 5:30 when she finally made it back to the cabin. When she pushed the door open, she hadn't thought Ryan would be awake, and apparently waiting for her.

"Hi." She said, closing the door behind her.

To her surprise, Ryan gave her a small grin. "Hi. Couldn't sleep?"

She nodded her head. "Yeah."

"You're hair is wet."

"I went for a swim."

He nodded his head. "You could've left a note." He told her, trying his best not to sound patronizing

She shrugged. "I could've."

"I was worried." he added.

She could feel her temper slowly rising again. "I'm a big girl. I can take care of myself."

Ryan sighed tiredly. "I don't want to fight with you, Mani."

The brunette let out a long breath and joined him on the bed, sitting next to him. "I just needed to vent." She told him, too exhausted to be in her usual bad mood.

"Look, I'm sorry if I was harsh with you yesterday."

She nodded her head, agreeing with him. "Well I'm sorry I got drunk and threw a fit. You had every right to be mad at me. The way I was acting last night was far from professional."

Ryan grinned at her and nodded his head approvingly. "Apology accepted." He paused and gave her a little playful nudge with his elbow. "But, as much as it pains me to say it, I think you might've been right about something."

Mani smiled and lifted her eyebrows in curiosity. "I could say I'm right about everything, but I'm gonna let you go ahead and tell me what YOU think I'm right about."

There, the woman he'd got a glimpse of on the plane two days ago was back. "I thought about it last night, and I think you're right. We have to start focusing our attention on more than our little group of happy-go-rich people."

Mani gaped at him, taken aback. "Are you telling me last night's fight was actually worth it?"

"Maybe." He raised his hand up, stopping her from becoming too cocky. "BUT, we still have to spend time hanging with the wealthiest people on the ship. If our murderer is looking for a rich couple, we have to make sure he finds it. We also need to make sure he chooses US over another couple."

Mani sighed and nodded her head. "I'm gonna hate every single second of it, but I promise I'll try my best to act the part."

"Excellent."

"Shouldn't we have had this conversation BEFORE we started this whole mission?"

Ryan snorted. "I think we've been doing everything wrong since the moment we met."

Mani bit her lower lip to keep from laughing. She nudged him in the ribs and wrinkled her nose. "We still aren't friends, Ryan."

He lifted his hands up in defense. "The thought never even crossed my mind."

"Glad we're on the same page." She stood from the bed and quickly walked towards the bathroom. "Now, if you don't mind, I'm gonna spend the next hour in the bathroom and annoy the hell out of you."

Ryan laughed as she locked the door behind her, leaving him alone on the bed. He shook his head and decided to hide back under the covers. If she could spend an hour showering, he could get one more hour of sleep.

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_AWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW Are they going to finally start getting along? …. We'll see about that. ;P_


	10. Chapter 9

_**Author's note: Thank you SO MUCH for the reviews everyone! I've been trying my best to add a little action to my story, but I can't seem to find the right ideas! So I came up with this. Hope you enjoy it!**_

_**OH and, by the way, I may be WAY OFF with the whole cruise thing... I've really been trying to make it as real as possible!**_

_**Don't forget to review!**_

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**Chapter 9: An Unwelcomed Visitor**

Jamaica.

Mani had NEVER been to a more beautiful place. She let out a long content sigh, her eyes taking in the gorgeous view. It wasn't as if she'd ever been anywhere. She'd worked so hard her whole life to get where she was, she'd never had time to enjoy what the world had to offer. She'd succeeded to keep a cold head when they'd got to Miami, but this place was simply way too amazing to ignore.

She knew she shouldn't have been enjoying this as much as she was, but their job was to mix with the other passengers and act as if they were on vacation. So if it meant they had to go to these breath taking places and participate in a bunch of fun activities, who was she to do the opposite?

The ship had accosted at the port of call of Jamaica early in the morning, and the passengers were let off the boat to spend the day on the beach.

The three couples they'd been spending time with since their first night on the ship had invited them to spend the day with them, but Ryan and her both decided to try and mingle with the other passengers. They needed to find out if someone else could be as interested in them.

Unfortunately, none of them seemed to give them that much attention. After a whole day spent visiting small shops, eating the best food they'd ever tasted and hanging out on the beach, no one had even dared talking to them. To them, they were just another couple having a great time on the beach.

This mission was going way too slow for her liking. They were already into their fourth day on the cruise, and nothing interesting had happened. Well, nothing they could link to the case.

"Hello there! Having a good time?"

Unwillingly, Mani and Ryan both let out a discouraged sigh and turned their attention towards the loud high-pitched voice, which could only belong to one person.

Ryan was the first one to speak. "Definitely! I love the ship, but there's nothing like the feel of soft sand moving under your feet to remind you that you're on vacation."

Lisa nodded her head. It was almost impossible to see her eyes under the huge hat she was wearing. It was hideous. "I agree. We were thinking about maybe spending our last few hours on land on the beach, but I'm starting to miss the luxury of my cabin. What do you say, Mani? Do you want to join us for a couple hours of spa and champagne?"

'_I want to throw your hat to the sharks.'_ She thought. She wrinkled her nose, not finding the idea attractive at all. "I don't know. I'd like to try snorkeling. It's something I'd always dreamt of doing."

Kim smiled and jumped up and down excitingly. "I'd love to go with you, Mani! I tried it last year, and it was a great experience. I wouldn't mind doing it again!"

Mani lifted her eyebrows in surprise. "That would be great!" She turned her eyes towards Ryan, who was already looking very interested in their sudden female bonding. Kim wanted to spend time with her, away from her other wealthy friends? This could finally be the something they'd been waiting for. She nodded her head at him and looked at Kim. "Let's go!"

XXXXX

It was a little after five when they finally made it back on board. Mani would've never thought she'd get to live such an incredible experience. She couldn't wait to tell Louis about it. She was still in awe over what she'd get to observe underwater.

Kim was a lot nicer than she'd showed them all. Once they were just the two of them, she'd let herself have a lot more fun. She talked more, smiled more. If this wasn't all a lie, Mani could probably have gotten along with the woman.

The one thing that bugged her was the fact that Kim hadn't asked her once about her lifestyle in Boston. She'd asked her about her previous travels and had told her about other incredible experiences she'd had, but that was it.

Was she faking it all? Mani had no idea. The murderer was a very intelligent person, and there was no doubt in her mind befriending a potential victim was the first step.

Ryan, who'd stayed on the beach with Kim's husband Mark, had gotten the same feeling from the other man.

As they made their way up to their cabin, Mani and Ryan exchanged thoughts and decided to keep a close eye on the couple. And if it meant spending every evening with them, then they would do it.

However, it seemed they'd have to focus their attention on another situation. Mani knew something was wrong the moment she stepped foot in their cabin.

"I'm dead." Ryan moaned as he threw his bag on the couch.

"Ryan."

He didn't seem to hear her. "I can't wait to get under the shower. I'd go straight to bed if I could."

"RYAN." She called, finally getting his attention.

"What?"

"Someone went through our room."

He shrugged. "Well, the housekeeper comes in every day."

She groaned, frustrated. "No. I mean, someone's been going through my stuff." She clarified.

"What?" He looked around, frowning. "I don't see anything wrong."

Mani walked over to her side of the bed and pointed at the night stand. "Every time we leave the room, I leave my watch right there."

"Are you telling me you leave a ten-thousand watch for everyone to see?" Ryan asked, totally not seeing her point.

She rolled her eyes at him, quickly losing her patience. "We're on a boat, Ryan. In the middle of the ocean. I don't think a thief would go very far, especially if he were part of the staff." She shook her head, annoyed. "Anyway, you're missing the point, here. This morning, I left this watch next to the bed. Where is it now?"

Ryan pinched his lips and pointed at the small bag on top of the dresser. "In your jewelry bag?" He walked over to it and peeked inside. "There you go!" He took the watch out of the bag and held it out for her to see. "It was your jewelry bag, where you probably left it this morning."

She shook her head. "I didn't."

"So? Maybe the housekeeper just moved it there, you don't know."

"Actually, I do." She sighed, grimacing. "When I was sixteen, I used to have this horrible part time job working in a hotel. One of the first rules we were told to follow was never to move a client's belongings. Whatever they left around, we had to lift, clean under, and put back." She waved her arms around the cabin, showing her point. "The rules on this ship have to be extremely strict."

"I think you're just being paranoid." Ryan stated, not at all impressed with her speech.

Mani groaned, her patience now completely gone. "Alright! You know what? Screw you."

"What?" Ryan asked, slightly taken aback by her words.

"I said SCREW YOU."

He snorted at her. "Wow. So because I don't agree with you, you start insulting me. Real mature, Mani."

She pointed her finger accusingly at him, her face now flushed with anger. "No, YOU'RE the one insulting me when you tell me my suspicions are stupid."

"I didn't say they were." The glare she threw at him was a clear indicator she didn't agree with him. "Alright, alright. Let's say you're right and someone DID go through our stuff. Now, they KNOW we have many objects of value. Maybe this is what they wanted to make sure of. Right now, I'm just glad we didn't leave our badges and guns in the cabin for anyone to find." Before they'd boarded the ship, they had both agreed there was no way they'd go on an undercover mission without any protection. However, they knew leaving guns and badges in the cabin for anyone to find would have been a stupid idea so, they had both decided to keep their weapons in a locked compartment in the cabin. "THAT could've been a problem."

Mani's eyes grew wide, her anger forgotten. Without a word to Ryan, she went straight to one of her bags, which she had left in the closet, and started rummaging through it. She then sighed, her shoulders slumped in defeat. "We do have a problem. Whoever NEVER came in our room took my second gun." She grumbled.

"WHAT?" Ryan exclaimed, not believing what he'd heard.

The brunette turned around slowly, showing him the empty bag. "There was a gun in this bag, and now, it's gone."

"Gone? I thought we agreed to hide our gun in the safe!" He reminded her, nearly shouting at her.

"Well I needed to know I could get to my gun the second something happened." She told him, the volume of her voice matching his.

"MANI!"

"The intruder was very thorough; I hide my gun in the lining. There was NO WAY anyone could've caught it." She threw the bag back in the closet roughly. She'd been stupid and she knew it. If Ryan had been the one to hide a gun and get it stolen, she would probably have become a lot angrier than he was.

"Well, now we definitely have a problem. Not only do we have proof that someone on this boat has a key to our cabin, but, thanks to you, this person is now armed." Ryan concluded.

With a loud angered groan, she folded her hands on top of her head and shut her eyes. "I'm sorry." She murmured. She couldn't have been angrier at herself.

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_Fights, fights and more fights! I like overly dramatic Mani. She's really SOMETHING ELSE!_

_WHAT DID YOU THINK?_


	11. Chapter 10

**Author's note: OMG THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH FOR THE REVIEWS! I'm enjoying writing this story SO MUCH!**

**I think you're going to LOVE this chapter. It's a lot longer AND... Oh I won't spoil the surprise.**

**I HOPE YOU ENJOY IT!**

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**Chapter 10: Crossing the Line**

Seven days.

They'd been on the cruise for the seven days already, and the only suspects they'd been able to find were Lisa and George, and maybe Kim and her husband, Mark. They only called them 'suspects', because they were the only ones who'd showed them any interest.

Ryan and Mani had exchanged a few polite words with other passengers, but nothing more. The only people who seemed interested in them were the couples they'd been hanging with, and the crew members, who were always more than willing to be of service, especially when a nice tip followed.

The night after they'd realized her weapon had been stolen, Mani hadn't been able to go to sleep. After a few hours of twisting and turning under the covers, she'd decided to go to the swimming pool, where she'd met with Vincent again. It seemed he'd made a habit of doing a few laps in the pool when all the passengers were asleep. She'd spent a whole hour with him, talking about this and that. She enjoyed talking to him about his wife back home and his plans for the future, but absolutely despised the fact that she couldn't tell him the truth about her own life.

Her mind went back to the conversation they'd had as they sat next to the pool.

"_Where are you from?" _

"_Boston."_

_Vincent shook his head, unbelieving. "You don't look like you're from Boston."_

'Busted._' She thought, giving him a sheepish grin. "Montreal." It felt good to tell the truth for once._

"_THAT'S where the accent is from. I've never been to Canada. What made you want to leave?"_

_Mani looked down at her hands, grinning. "Ryan." And here she was, lying again. "We met In Montreal, sparks flied and I followed him over the border. End of the story."_

_He wrinkled his nose slightly. "You're not making it sound very romantic."_

_She snickered. "Actually, our story is a lot cuter than I make it sound." She sighed and shook her head, bringing her hands up to rub her eyes. "I just haven't been sleeping well."_

"_So, no trouble in paradise?"_

_She shook her head. "Nope, everything's perfect between me and Ryan." She assured him, ignoring the fact that the same Ryan hated her guts._

"_I don't doubt it. From the way Mr. Gordon looks at you when you're together, I think you made the right choice following him."_

_She smiled at him, thanking him silently. "You're a great confident, Vincent." If only she had the right to tell him everything that was wrong in her life… she almost felt as if she could tell him anything._

She'd then changed topic and tried fishing around for a little information about how the crew functioned and who could get access to the keys to the cabins, without attracting too many questions from him. She couldn't really tell him someone had been in their room, nor could she tell him her gun had been stolen.

She'd found out only the housekeepers had keys to the cabins. The additional keys were locked up, and only a few members of the crew had access to them. This meant the person who'd gotten into their cabin had access to the keys. That, or he'd stolen the keys from one of the crew members.

After she'd told Ryan about what she'd found out, they'd decided to keep working as if nothing had happened. They couldn't ignore the fact that someone on the ship was walking around with Mani's gun. But their mission was to gather as much information as possible on probable suspects, and to, in the best of situations, become the murderer's targets.

"Mani? What are you doing?"

The brunette let out a long breath and looked up at her reflection in the mirror. "What do you want, Ryan?"

"I'd like to get out of here this YEAR, if possible." He called from the other side of the door, sounding more than impatient.

She tightened her lips and glared at the door. "Are you always this whiny?" She shot back.

She heard him snort. "Only when I have to spend every single day with a woman who takes FOREVER to get ready."

Mani stayed silent; not trusting what could come out of her mouth. He'd been acting like a jerk all day, making sure she wouldn't forget about the mistake she'd made. The day had been rough on her, and from the sound of it, it wasn't about to start getting better. "So, GO! I'll join you after I'm done getting ready."

"That's the best idea you've had all week." She heard him walking away and then, heard the sound of the door closing.

Ryan had been acting like this since they'd found out someone had been into their cabin. She knew the way she'd acted hadn't been professional, and she blamed herself enough for it. She also knew Ryan did not accept failure. But so did she. As much as she hated being undercover, she HAD to make sure this mission succeeded.

Mani glanced up at herself once more, grimacing at the sight of the huge purple bags under her eyes. She couldn't remember the last time she hadn't been able to sleep for so long. With a long sigh, she started applying some make up to try and fade them to something acceptable. She applied some mascara and then some lip gloss to add some color to her face. She tied part of her curls on top of her head and took a step back. It wasn't much, but it would have to do.

She came out of the bathroom and walked into the now empty cabin. She looked inside the closet and grabbed one of the expansive dresses without really paying attention. She quickly pulled it on and zipped it up before looking at her reflection in the full view mirror. The short yellow dress fitted her perfectly.

"Time to face the wrath of Wolfe" she muttered, smoothing her hands down the dress. Louis would have killed to see her in a dress like this one. One thing for sure, she would make sure he never got any picture of her dressed like this. She wouldn't hear the end of it for a year. He'd probably carry that picture in his wallet and use it to bribe her.

Happy chatter mixed with Latin music welcomed her when she finally made it in the dining area. She spotted Ryan quickly, in the middle of a conversation with Mark, Jason and George. She took a long breath and forced a bright smile to her lips before making her way towards their table. "Hi everyone! Sorry for being late."

"It's fine darling. Your dress is absolutely gorgeous. Yellow is superb on you!"

Mani smiled. "Thank you, Kim." She walked over to the seat Ryan had kept for her, giving him a warm smile. Ryan smiled back and wrapped his arm around her, making sure she sat as close as possible to him. "What's with the music?" There was always music playing when they had dinner, but this time it was much louder.

Lisa threw her hands up and started following the beat of the music. "It's Latino night!"

"Latino night?" She asked in a small voice. She didn't like the sound of it.

Kim nodded her head excitingly. "It means there is going to be a lot of music, fun and most of all, dancing."

Mani's smile wavered as she turned to look at Ryan. "Dancing?"

Ryan grinned and nodded his head. "Dancing." He repeated.

"Dancing." Mani murmured. '_Shoot me.'_

She felt Ryan put his hand on her thigh as bent his head down to whisper in her ear. "Want a drink?"

What she wanted right then, was to wipe that smirk off his face. " _'A'_ drink?" She whispered back, praying with all her might he wouldn't ask her to make a fool of herself on the dance floor.

Before long, dinner was served and Mani quickly forgot about the dancing part of this special evening. She focused on keeping the conversations going and, most of all, keeping a smile on her face. All the while, she let her eyes travel around the other passengers sitting in the room, trying to see if anyone could be watching them. The only person who seemed to give them some kind of interest was Vincent, who smiled at her when her eyes met his.

Way too soon, the lights dimmed, making place for the special event of the night. A group of musicians took the stage, accompanied by six or seven couples, who started moving to the fast beat. Mani wasn't a fan of dance shows, but she had to agree these dancers knew how to move.

A few passengers started applauding when a few others stood from their table to join the dancers on the dance floor.

Mani was surprised to see Rachel and Jason stand from their table to join the other dancers. She bit her lower lip and looked at Ryan, slightly panicked. "We don't dance, right?" she muttered.

Ryan smirked. "Do you want to dance, Mani?" he asked her, knowing real well she would never go for it. He was fine with it, he wasn't a good dancer anyway. He just loved watching her squirm.

"No."

He laughed and shook his head, bending his head down to kiss her temple lightly. "No, we don't dance."

Mani ignored the shiver than ran all the way down her spine and turned her attention back on the dance floor, where about a dozen couples were moving to the music. She hated the fact thatShe emptied her drink and looked around to see what Vincent was up to. She saw him leaning back against the bar, looking at the dancers and moving his head to the music. Her smile widened when his eyes broke away from the dance floor and met hers. She lifted her chin towards him and waited for him to come to their table.

"Can I get you anything, Mrs. Gordon?" He asked her politely.

Mani pointed at the dance floor. "You should take a small break and go dancing, Vincent! You look like you want to."

Vincent laughed and nodded his head. "I'd really like to, but I can't, Mrs. Gordon. I have to serve the passengers."

Ryan, who was listening to the exchange, pointed at his drink. "Well, my drink is full, so you don't need to serve me. But what I want you to do is bring my wife on that dance floor and teach her how to dance salsa."

Vincent raised his eyebrows and looked at Mani, grinning invitingly. The brunette, on the other hand, looked as if Ryan had just asked her to strip in front of every passenger on this boat.

"It would be my pleasure, sir." Vincent politely answered, offering his hand to Mani.

She looked at Ryan and, as much as she wanted to take his drink and pour it over that weather-man hair of his, gave him a tight smile. "That would be great." She told him, taking Vincent's hand. "I'll be back!" _'to kill you.' _She thought, wishing badly she hadn't lost her gun.

She let Vincent lead her to the dance floor and gave him a nervous smile when he turned around to face her. "I'm gonna suck."

Vincent laughed and shook his head, taking hold of her right hand and putting his other hand on her waist. "You'll be fine! Just follow my lead, alright?"

She grinned and nodded her head, listening intently as he showed her the basic steps. Before she even knew what was happening, they were moving to the music. It was like the moves came together in a way she couldn't describe. The driving beat of the music made her want to forget about everything; the mission, her job, her life in Montreal. All of it became pointless compared to the fun she was having.

She threw her head back and laughed as Vincent twirled her and dipped her, unconscious to the fact that she probably looked stupid next to the experienced dancers moving right next to her.

Before long, a thin layer of sweat had formed all over her skin and her legs were burning from the effort. "Vincent! I can't take it anymore!" She yelled over the music, pulling at his arms to stop him.

He nodded his head and took her hand to lead her back towards her table, where Ryan was patiently waiting for her. Still laughing, she let herself fall in her chair ungracefully.

"Well, you looked like you were having a great time out there!" Ryan told her, grinning.

"Mrs. Gordon is a natural!" Vincent told him, taking his tray from the table. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to get back to work. Thank you for the dance, Mrs. Gordon!"

"No, thank YOU, Vincent! You're a great teacher!"

Vincent nodded his head in thanks and walked away. Mani giggled again and closed her eyes, lifting her heavy hair up to fan her neck.

Not wasting any time, Ryan bent his head down to whisper in her ear. "Follow me." He asked her, taking her hand to pull her back up.

Giving their companions parting smiles, she followed him quietly, wondering what he couldn't wait to tell her. Whatever it was, it must've been important. She smiled politely at the other passengers they crossed on their way to their room, and waited for them to be alone before asking him the burning question. "What's going on?"

Ryan let her walk in the elevator and waited for the doors to close to answer her question. "I think we may have found our main suspect." He announced.

"What? Who?"

"Vincent."

Mani threw her head back and laughed. "Are you kidding me?"

"I'm not trying to be funny." Ryan asked her, dead serious.

"You're being ridiculous."She told him, shaking her head. "Vincent is NOT a murderer."

"How do you know?"

"I just know. Did you know that every time I go down for a swim, he's there? We spent a lot of time talking, and I've got to say, there is absolutely nothing suspicious about him."

"Well, call this a stupid thought, but don't you think our suspect would WANT to become friends with his victims?" he asked her, his voice dripping with sarcasm. The 'nice' Ryan she'd spent the evening with was now gone.

Ignoring the fact that she'd thought the exact same thing when Kim had been overly friendly towards her, Mani shook her head, scowling at him. "Vincent is the only real person on this boat. He's the only one who hasn't been feeding me crap about everything." She angrily threw at him.

"Lying is what we're being paid to do, Mani!" Ryan nearly shouted. "We HAVE to lie if we want to catch this freak!"

"I KNOW!" She cried out angrily.

There was a pause when the elevator came to a stop and the doors opened to let them out. Never would they have thought their evening would end with a full-blown shouting match. Mani groaned and quickly walked past him and onto the floor.

"You're gonna screw this whole mission."

"WHAT?" She nearly screamed, turning around to face him. Lucky for them, the hallway was completely empty, all the other passengers probably down having dinner.

Ryan didn't back off, instead coming to stand right in her face. "You are NOT acting professionally! You are completely unable to separate yourself from the person you are supposed to be!"

Mani turned around and made her way down the hall to their cabin, furious. "Well FINE! Let's just put this whole thing off! It was a disaster to think we'd work well together!" She screamed, not even caring if someone heard her. "YOU'RE JUST A SELF-CENTERED BASTARD!"

Ryan followed her, his face red with anger. "Well, I'd rather be self-centered than a know-it-all bitch!" He shot back, not caring about hurting her. He'd had enough of her.

Mani turned around, coming face to face with him. "There's no FUCKING way I'm spending one more night in the same room with you!" She was shouting full force now.

Ryan pinched his lips and nodded his head. "That's PERFECT! I don't want to spend one more second around you!" He yelled back.

None of them could've explained what happened next. Before neither of them could say anything else, Ryan had crushed his lips to hers and was pushing her up against their cabin door. He bit her lower lip, forcing her to open her mouth for his furious invasion. He stole the air from her lungs, groaning ferociously when he felt her grab hold of his collar, not about to let him get away from her.

A little voice inside his head reminded him that they were still in the hallway. Without letting go of her mouth, he was able to unlock the door behind her and push it open. They both tumbled inside and hit the wall forcefully, before Ryan was able to shove the door shut.

With a grunt, he brought his hands up to her face, keeping her from moving away as he ravaged her lips in frenzied passion. The room was filled with throaty moans and heavy breathing as they bit, tugged and nipped at each other's lips.

Holding her tightly against his strong chest, he moved her away from the wall, blindly trying to bring her to the large bed. Something hard hit the back of her legs and Ryan lifted her on it, not caring if it was the dresser or the table. Tongues fought as they both struggled to keep the upper hand.

Mani pushed his suit jacket off his shoulders and went straight for his belt buckle, as Ryan quickly got rid of his shirt. Before she was able to discard him from his pants, Ryan pushed her hands away and unlocked his lips from hers. In one swift motion, he had grabbed the hem of her short dress and pulled it over her head, tossing it to the ground. He quickly took his place back between her thighs, his mouth attacking the skin of her neck as she clawed at the exposed skin of his back with her fingernails.

His wet mouth made its way back up to her luscious lips, swallowing the loud moan that came out of her throat as he pushed his erection against her center. Groaning, she brought her hands back to his belt, fingers fumbling to free him from his pants. He let out a loud grunt when she finally opened his pants, her fingers brushing against his impressive need.

With a groan, Ryan lifted her off the surface and turned them around, desperate to have better access to all of her. He quickly found the edge of the bed and dropped her on it unceremoniously, before covering her with his body.

Ryan lifted himself onto his elbows and what he saw turned him on even more, if possible. He'd never seen anything sexier. Her head was thrown back, her lips swollen from his rough kisses, her eyes filled with a mix of hunger and hate. As much as he hated her right now, he'd never wanted anything more than he wanted Mani right now.

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_Sooooooo? What did you think? I can't write smut so I decided to stop it there and let your imagination do the rest! _

_Do you think Vincent could be the murderer? You never know… many other surprises to come!_

_PLEASE review!_


	12. Chapter 11

_**Author's note: Hey everyone! I'm glad you enjoyed my last chapter! **_

_**Considering the fact that Mani and Ryan haven't been enjoying each other's company AT ALL, I thought they wouldn't come out from their after sex haze all smiling… In my opinion, I made it a lot more entertaining! **_

_**Enjoy!**_

_**Don't forget to review!**_

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**Chapter 11: Reality Bites**

Mani was lying on her back, staring straight at the ceiling, unmoving. She could hear Ryan's breathing as he lay by her side, equally silent.

She didn't know how long they'd been lying in the dark. All she knew was that they both hadn't moved a limb since they'd parted. She also knew he was still awake, and was most probably wishing he wasn't on a cruise ship, in the middle of the ocean.

That's what SHE was wishing for. She'd tried closing her eyes tightly and praying to reappear anywhere else than in this room, but it hadn't worked.

She knew running away wasn't the right idea, but she would have done anything to AT LEAST have the OPTION. Now they didn't have a choice. They would have to talk.

But what are you supposed to say to a person you've just had the most incredible mind-blowing sex with?

"What just happened?" Ryan murmured, breaking the heavy silence.

"I don't know."

They both stayed quiet for what felt like an eternity, before Ryan tried talking again.

"I mean, one second we were fighting, and the next we were…"

"Don't say it." Mani interrupted him. "I was there. I know."

"Right." He mumbled.

The awkward silence was back.

"You know this can never happen again." Ryan blurted out, breaking the silence again.

She nodded her head eagerly. "I totally agree." She answered.

"Great."

"Awesome."

You would think clarifying things would make the air more breathable. It didn't. The silence between them was choking her. She needed to move. "I'm gonna take a shower."

"Good idea!"

Neither of them moved.

"Ok." She blurted again, before pushing herself off the bed. Even if he wouldn't be able to see her, she grabbed her pillow, seeing as it was the only close for her to take, and covered herself with it as best as she could. She made a bee-line for the bathroom, not daring glancing at the bed, where Ryan was still lying, totally naked.

Mani shut the door behind her and locked the door. She turned the light on and was met with her disheveled appearance. She lifted her hands to hide her face and groaned loudly, shaking her head. "StupidstupidstupidSTUPID!" She couldn't believe she'd let it happen.

It was like the moment Ryan's lips had crashed on hers, all of her brain had turned to mush. She hadn't been able to think one proper thought.

She bit her lower lip, remembering the burning desire that had taken over her whole body once he'd pulled tightly against him. She sighed loudly and pulled her hands away, staring at herself again. Two days. They had to be on this ship for another two days, and then, it would all be over. They would report back to Miami, tell the team what they'd found, and then, Louis and her would go back to Montreal. All of this would be behind her.

She sighed and rolled her eyes at her own stupidity. Who was she kidding. As if she would be able to leave it all behind with the snap of her fingers. She wasn't like that, and she knew it.

XXXXX

Ryan waited for Mani to close the door before closing his eyes tightly, swearing under his breath. "StupidstupidstupidSTUPID!" he muttered angrily, hitting the mattress with his fist. Of all the bad decisions he'd made in his life, this one HAD to be one of the worst.

He grimaced, remembering how everything had started. For a second there, he'd actually thought about calling management and demanding he got another cabin. But then, as he was about to scream it at her, he'd…. kissed her? What the hell was wrong with him?

'_There's a thin line between love and hate.'_ His mind reminded him, making him roll his eyes in disbelief.

Ryan let out a long sigh and turned his head towards the bathroom. He could see the bright light creeping under the closed door. Mani was probably losing it in there. She hated him, that he was already aware of, but now she probably thought he was a pig.

'_She enjoyed it as much as you did.'_ the little voice told him. Ryan groaned and shook his head, erasing the scenes that played in his head.

He needed to concentrate on the job. They had two days to complete their undercover mission, and there was NO WAY he was going back to Miami empty handed. YES, he'd done a mistake. YES, he was an ass. But they had a job to do.

Ryan sighed when he heard the sound of the shower running, and turned his head to look at the alarm clock, which read 1:43. He knew none of them would be able to fall asleep after this, especially in the same bed, so he decided to get things moving. If they weren't going to sleep, they'd work. He needed to work.

He left the bed and went straight to the dresser, from which he got a pair of pajama bottoms and a grey t-shirt. He pulled them on and went to work on erasing the evidence of what had happened between them. When they're clothes were back in the closet and he'd made the bed, he sat on a chair at the table and crossed his arms, admiring his work. All of it wouldn't erase the smell of sex that filled the cabin.

He gasped when he heard the shower turn off, his stress level shooting through the roof. "I need a drink."

XXXXX

Mani took a lot more time than she needed in the shower, needing to relax her nerves. It's only when she realized her skin was all red from the hot water that she came out, wishing she could've stayed in there for the rest of the cruise.

She dried off her skin quickly and groaned when she realized she hadn't brought any clothes in the bathroom. Rolling her eyes at her own stupidity, she wrapped the large towel around herself and walked out of the bathroom.

She was surprised to see all the lights in the cabin turned on, and Ryan sitting at table, dressed, and sipping on a drink. She blushed and held onto her towel, not wanting any accidents to happen.

"I forgot to grab some clothes." She said in a small voice, pointing towards the closet.

Ryan gave her a tight grin and trying to look anywhere else BUT her.

She went for the closet and opened it, coming face to face with her yellow dress. Images of Ryan, pulling that same dress over her head and throwing it to the floor popped into her head. She shook her head and pushed the clothes to the side, going for the large black sweater and sweat pants she'd brought for the trip.

Without even glancing his way, she went straight to the bathroom again, to get dressed.

She came out a few minutes later, and, with her arms crossed, went to sit at the table with Ryan. "So, what now?" she asked, unsure.

"I thought now would be as good as a time to focus our minds on our possible suspects."

Mani nodded her head eagerly, liking the idea. He didn't want to talk, and she was MORE than ok with it. "Good idea."

"We'll do it the old fashioned way. Grab a pen and a piece of paper."

"Really?"

"Really." He waited for her to get what he'd asked her, unable to keep himself from grinning at her pout. Good old Mani was slowly coming back. When she came back to the table, he grabbed the pen and paper from her hands and started writing names. "Alright! So we've gotten to know the wealthiest passengers on the ship: Lisa and Georges, Rachel and Jason, and Kim and Mark." He wrote all six names and drew a line under them. "Then, we got the very few crew members and passengers we got to meet." He wrote a couple of names on the sheet and drew another line. "And then we have your new friend, Vincent." He finally told her, watching her face for any reaction. Her brow furrowed, but she stayed quiet, probably not wanting to get into another fight like the one they'd had.

Lord knew where the first one had gotten them.

"So, these are all the people who've seemed to show us some interest."

"Exactly."

They put their heads together and started adding information they had on each of these people.

"George and Lisa are retired, and are loaded. They have two kids who are young adults. They spend most of their time travelling and spending their money. George likes golf, and Lisa lives for spas. From what they'd told us, they have a huge house, a boat and about a trillion fancy cars."

Mani nodded her head. "That's pretty accurate."

Ryan pointed at the next couple. "Next, we got Rachel and Jason. Jason is an accountant. According to him, he only advises clients who have huge wallets."

The brunette snorted. "And Rachel is a pro at doing nothing." She told him, remembering the pointless conversations she'd had with the other woman. "If you ask me, I think Jason, being an accountant and all, could be our number one suspect."

Ryan pinched his lips and shook his head in doubt. "Not so sure. Jason told me that he didn't want to come on this cruise in the first place. Rachel had to threaten him into coming with her."

"Doesn't mean anything." She told him. She snorted again, wiggling her fingers. "I can really imagine her threatening him with one of her long, shiny red nails."

Ryan smirked, but stayed quiet, going for the next names on his list. "Kim and Mark."

"Well, Kim is extremely friendly. I haven't really gotten to know her that much, but she seems fake. And she told me Mark and her have only been together for about three months. She changes boyfriends like she changes underwear."

"Nice. What about Vincent?"

Mani sighed, but went along with it. "Vincent is from Kingston. He has a young wife named Monica he doesn't get to see enough. He is planning on buying a house and starting a family. He likes swimming. He has a very good ear. He is one of the nicest people on this ship."

"You don't know everyone on this ship." Ryan reminded her.

Mani glared at him, making her point quietly.

Ryan sighed and nodded his head, letting go. Talking about Vincent had gotten them in a very awkward situation, so NOT pushing it was most likely the best idea right now.

Together, they worked on adding some information about the few other people they'd gotten to talk to through the week. When they were finally done, Ryan sat back and admired their work.

"So, what's the conclusion?" Mani asked, bringing her hands up to rub her eyes. She was having a hard time staying awake.

"My conclusion is, we may have to start asking questions. Lose the act and go straight to the point with a few of them." Ryan announced, crossing his arms over his chest.

"I think you're right." Mani added. She stifled a yawn with her hand and shook her head, trying to wake herself up. She glanced at the clock and raised her eyebrows in surprise. "Wow, it's almost four. We've been working on this for longer than I thought."

Ryan nodded his head and stretched his arms. "Yeah, I think the best thing to do now would be to get a few hours of sleep before we start questioning our suspects."

The air between them changed instantly when they both turned their eyes on the only bed. Both of them could feel the room filling up with that awkward feeling again.

Mani groaned and stood from her chair, annoyed. "Alright, it's late and I'm tired. Now we can act all awkward and try to find a solution to our sleeping arrangement, or we can put it behind us and go to bed. We're adults, and we're both exhausted. Let's just go to bed and sleep."

Ryan stared at her for a few seconds and finally nodded his head slowly. "You're right."

Without another word, Mani went straight for her side of the bed and lifted the covers, hiding under them.

Ryan let out a long breath and followed her lead, turning the lights off as he made his way to the bed. He thought about sleeping on top of the covers, but ignored the idea. She was right; they were adults. Facing away from her, he forced his eyes shut. He took a deep breath and willed himself to relax, trying with all his might to ignore the smell of sex coming from the sheets.

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_SOOOOOOOOOOO? I thought writing a "morning after" would be too easy… and, in my opinion, this was a lot more realistic. Hope you enjoyed!_

_Don't forget to tell me what you think!_


	13. Chapter 12

_**Author's note: WOW y'all! Thank you SO MUCH for the nice reviews! A lot of action is coming up! AND the answer to all your questions! I hope I won't mess it up... I want to do this right!**_

_**Don't forget to let me know what you thought! Your opinion is REALLY important to me... Pretty much tells me if I'm taking this where I should!**_

_**ENJOY!**_

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**Chapter 12: The REAL Morning After**

When Ryan woke up, the first thought that came to his mind was that the room was very bright. The second was that it was the first time in nine days he hadn't woken up alone. He didn't need to open his eyes to know Mani was still in bed with him. She'd gotten closer to him during the night, and even if she wasn't touching him, he could feel the warmth coming from her body, which was just a few inches away from his own.

He slowly opened his eyes and turned his head to look at her. The bright light coming from the large window created a white halo around her. She was on her side facing him, still sound asleep. Her face was half hidden in her pillow, which she was holding tightly against her chest. She looked completely at peace, a look he'd rarely gotten to see on her face.

'_I must have really worn her out.'_ The thought had crossed his mind before he could even stop it. He shouldn't be having these thoughts, not when he knew what they'd done was completely wrong.

But he couldn't deny the fact that the two of them together had been extremely good. Who was he kidding; he'd never been more turned on in his entire adult life. He sighed and let his eyes travel over her features. Emmanuelle Villeneuve was a gorgeous woman. Her hair, her eyes, her body, was exquisite. And he loved the small freckles on her nose.

'_Wait, LOVE?'_ He wasn't in love with her. The most intense feeling he'd had for her was hatred. She was a fine CSI and could probably be a good friend, just not his. She'd made it clear she disliked him passionately.

Her breathing changed, announcing she was awakening. Panicking, Ryan closed his eyes quickly, not wanting her to see he'd been watching her sleep. He felt the bed move when she put more space between the two of them, probably not liking their close proximity. He could hear her breathing, but wondered why she wasn't moving. He kept his eyes shut for a few more minutes, until there was a rustling of the sheets as she got out of bed. He cracked one eye open just as she was walking around the bed, probably towards the closet. He heard her gather something from it and then, heard the sound of the bathroom door closing.

Finally alone, he turned on his back and opened his eyes, now wide awake. "You're 32, not 12 you moron." he mumbled to himself.

He decided to wait for her to be finished with the bathroom on the balcony. He made some coffee for both of them and sat outside, taking in the gorgeous view as he waited patiently.

"Morning."

Ryan looked over his shoulder and grinned at Mani who was standing by the glass door. "Good morning! You didn't take much time!" he teased.

Mani shrugged and walked a little closer. "Yeah, I didn't think I'd sleep so late." She was wearing a pair of white bermuda shorts and a bright green tank top, which brought out the green in her eyes.

Ryan stood from his chair and left his now empty cup on the glass table next to him. "Well, good for you. You have to get back some sleep at one point."

"I guess." She answered, shrugging her shoulders nonchalantly.

They stood facing each other, neither of them knowing what else to say. "So, it's my turn to take a shower."

"Go ahead."

He nodded and walked back in the room. "I won't be long."

"Take your time."

Ryan grabbed what he needed to get cleaned up and walked in the bathroom, frowning. Something was definitely up with Mani. She'd been awake for about an hour and she still hadn't made any smart ass comment.

Yesterday, he would've thanked the Lord. Today, he just knew something was up.

XXXXX

When Mani and Ryan had left their cabin, they'd quickly gone over their plan again. They'd decided the first people they'd interrogate would be Lisa and George, since they were regular passengers of cruises just like this one. Maybe they would know something. Ryan was going to take care of bringing George to their cabin, when she was given the difficult task of dragging Lisa away from the spa.

"You HAVE to see this, you're gonna love it." Mani told Lisa as she led her towards their cabin.

Lisa smiled excitingly. "I must say you've made me quite curious, Mani. Let's just do this quickly so we can go back to the others."

Mani had told her a lie about wanting to show her some of the new jewelry Ryan had gotten her, which were unique. Lisa had gone along with it instantly, probably wanting to see what the fuss was about so she'd have her husband get her something the same thing.

"Of course!" Mani reassured her, unlocking the door and moving aside to let her in first. "Come on in!"

Lisa's quick pace slowed down when she saw her husband sitting at the table with Ryan. "George? What are you doing here, I thought you were surfing with Mark and Jason?"

George sighed and lifted his chin towards Ryan, who had a very serious look on his face. Ryan stood before he could answer her question and walked a few steps towards Lisa. "Mrs. Faulkner, my name is Ryan Wolfe, I'm with Miami Dade PD. We would like to ask you a few questions, if you don't mind." He told her, not really giving her the choice.

Lisa opened and closed her mouth, eyes wide in surprise as she looked at Mani, who was still standing a few steps behind her. "Mani? What's going on?"

Mani gave her a tight grin and pointed towards the empty chair next to her husband's. "Please, Lisa, sit down."

Dumbstruck, Lisa walked to the table and sat next to George, taking his hand. "George, what's going on?" She asked again, looking more and more panicked.

Ryan started talking before George could say anything. "Mr. and Mrs. Faulkner, we are investigating the murders of two couples, which took place a couple of weeks ago. We've been working undercover to gather information about some of the passengers on this ship."

"And why are we here?" George asked them, his voice harsh.

Mani took over. "We have reason to believe the murderers might have chosen their victims on this cruise ship."

"What does it have to do with us?" The older man asked.

"You've told us you've been on this cruise on several occasions. We also know you've been on the same cruise our victims were on."

"You think we murdered them?" Lisa shrieked out, outraged. "We are NOT murderers!" She shouted, ignoring her husband who was trying to calm her down.

Mani shook her head. "We haven't accused you of anything yet. We're just gathering information. When you were on your previous cruises, did you happen to meet François and Jessica Montmigny? Don't try to tell us you weren't on the same trip, we already have proof you were."

Lisa and George looked at each other, trying to put a face to the name. Lisa's eyes lightened up as she remembered who they were talking about. "Yes! I do remember them, Frank and Jessica." She glanced at her husband again. "Remember? They had a gorgeous accent, they told us they were from Montreal."

George slowly nodded his head. "I do remember them. Are you telling us they were murdered?"

"Yes. They were both found in their home, shot to death."

"Oh my God…" The couple muttered, shocked at the news.

"What about Clark and Belinda Wilson?" Ryan continued.

Lisa remembered them instantly. "Of course we remember them! We spent the whole cruise with them. Are they dead too?"

"Yes." Mani answered coldly. "Now, can you see what you all have in common? I'll tell you. You two. How is it that our four victims were on this same ship, and were in contact with you the whole time?"

Lisa and George looked at each other, clealry not believing what they were hearing. Lisa stood up from her chair and started pacing quickly, her arms flying in every direction as she spoke. "I don't know! We just enjoy coming on these cruises because we get to meet new people."

"Mrs. Faulkner, I'm gonna ask you to sit back down." Mani demanded harshly, pointing at the empty chair.

The older woman went back to her seat, but she kept going. "You HAVE to believe us when we say we're not the ones who killed them. We've never even been to Canada!"

"Lisa hates cold places." George added.

"It's not that cold." Mani blurted out.

Ryan sent her a look. "ANYWAY, if you didn't do it, can you tell us who could have?"

Lisa shook her head quickly. "No! I do NOT spend time with murderers!"

The male CSI crossed his arms over his chest and let out a long breath. The interrogation hadn't been as fruitful as he'd hoped, but they didn't have the choice to let them go. "Alright, we're gonna let you go now. If you think of ANYTHING that could help us, we'd appreciate it if you told us."

Mani nodded her head. "Also, we're going to ask you to keep quiet about us. If you tell anyone about our real identities, you could screw the whole mission."

"Sure, we'll stay quiet." George told them, standing up from his seat.

The brunette looked at the other woman. "Lisa? I'm talking to you. You HAVE to keep this to yourself. Can you do it?" She asked her, hoping she could trust her.

Lisa opened her mouth, looking offended. "Of course I can!" She gasped, grabbing her husband's arm. "Oh my God, are we in danger?"

"We don't think so, but we can't be 100% sure." Ryan told them. "I think it would be a good idea if you stayed low today, and spent as much time away from crowds. Your cabin could be a very good place to stay."

George nodded his head in agreement. "Alright."

The to CSI's both watched them leave their cabin. As soon as the door had shut behind them, Ryan crossed his arms over his chest, glancing towards his partner. "You know hiding in their cabin won't help them if the murderer is after them."

Mani shrugged. "I know. I just thought it would get them out of our way for a while." She pouted. "I'm not so sure Lisa's gonna be able to spend a whole day locked up in her room."

Ryan slowly nodded his head in agreement, but stayed quiet.

"So? Who's next?" she asked him, ready to get moving.

"Let's bring Rachel and Mark. I'm still not sure they're our murderers, but I still want to cross them from our list of suspects."

XXXXX

Mani walked on the deck quickly, looking for Rachel. She couldn't find her anywhere, but she saw Kim, who was slowly walking towards her. "Hey, Kim!"

The other woman gave her a huge smile. "Mani, hi! Haven't seen you all day, what have you been up to?"

The brunette grinned and shrugged her shoulders, trying to look nonchalant. "Not much! I'm just enjoying our last day at sea." she answered, waving her hands around. "Have you seen Rachel?"

Kim nodded her head. "I saw her about half an hour ago. She told me she wanted to do some last minute shopping. As if she hasn't bought everything on this boat already." She told her, rolling her eyes. "Want me to go look for her with you?" she offered.

Mani shook her head. "Nah, I got it. You can stay here and enjoy what's left of the sun! I'll see you later!" She gave her one last smile and turned around, walking towards the closest staircase. As she walked down the corridor, she looked down at her watch, swearing under her breath when she realized she only had fifteen minute before Ryan and her were supposed to meet at the cabin. She sighed and picked up the pace. She needed to find Rachel, and quickly.

Then, out of nowhere, she was grabbed from behind and dragged into a dark room. Before she could try calling for help, her world went black.

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_**Sooooooooooooooooo? How did you like it? TELL ME! I can't wait ! XXXXXXXXXX**_


	14. Chapter 13

_**Author's note: Hi everyone! I'm glad you all seem to have enjoy my last chapter! Makes me soooo happy!**_

_**However, as someone reminded me (and she was RIGHT), it WAS very unprofessional for Mani and Ryan to question possible suspects on the ship. I also realize there could be WAY MORE suspects on board, since there are SO MANY other passengers! But I've realized how HARD it is to write action and suspense with so many characters and, therefore, potential suspects! I couldn't see any other way I could write the story… However, it IS constructive criticism, and I appreciate it! **_

_**Anyway, I hope you enjoy this next chapter! **_

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**Chapter 13: The Truth Revealed**

"Where the hell is she?" Ryan muttered, glancing at his watch for the hundredth time. Mani should've been back by now. He sighed and rubbed his hands through his hair nervously.

"How long am I supposed to stay in here?" Jason asked from behind him, irritated.

Ryan stopped pacing and sent him a dark look. It had been pretty easy to drag him to his cabin, but not as easy to make him wait. So Ryan had gone ahead and told him who he really was, but hadn't given him the reason why he and Mani were on the boat. He needed his partner to continue. But apparently, she had some place else to be. Unfortunately, he couldn't start interrogating Jason without his partner and Rachel.

He could tell Jason was running out of patience. And so was he.

Ryan let out a long, angry breath and shook his head. "You'll stay here for as long as I need you to stay here." He told him in a harsh voice. He was getting worried.

"Can I turn on the TV?"

Ryan bowed his head, biting the inside of his mouth to keep himself from strangling the guy.

XXXXX

Mani groaned as she slowly started coming back to her senses. The back of her head hurt like crazy and there was a disgusting metal taste in her mouth.

She tried to lift her hands up to touch her head but found that they were tied behind her back. "What…" she whispered, forcing her eyes open. But all her eyes met was darkness.

'_How the hell did I get here?'_ she thought. _'And where the hell is 'here'?'_

Shaking her head slowly, she squinted her eyes, trying to see through the darkness. The room she was in seemed fairly small and there was a faint smell of detergent floating in the air. She could make out what seemed to be shelves and a door to her right, but nothing more.

She took a deep breath through her nose as a wave of nausea suddenly washed over her. She must've moved her head too fast. She closed her eyes and focused on trying to remember what had happened. She'd been looking for Rachel. She could remember walking in the corridor, and then, out of nowhere, someone had grabbed her. Everything was black after that. Whoever had taken her must have hit her hard.

She tightened her jaw and tried to free her hands from their bound, whimpering as sharp pain shot through her left shoulder. "Son of a bitch…" She muttered under her breath, grimacing. There was no way she'd be able to free herself.

Just as she was about to start shouting, movement was heard from behind the door. "Hey!" she called, not really caring if it was her attacker or not. There was no way she'd spend one more minute in here. "I need help here!"

She heard the sound of footsteps approaching the door and then, someone unlocking the door. Mani shut her eyes, grimacing as bright light that suddenly filled the room. Forcing her eyes open, she gasped in relief when she saw who had walked in the room. "Vincent!"

The young man, who seemed as surprised at seeing her as she was, quickly walked over to her and started untying her. "Mani! What the hell happened?"

Mani hissed in pain as he pulled a little too hard on her arms before freeing her hands. She shook her head. "I don't know! I think someone attacked me!" She told him, rubbing her bruised wrists.

"How long have you been in here?" Vincent asked her as he helped her stand up. He reached for her face, wanting to get a closer look at her mouth. "Did someone hit you? You're bleeding."

The brunette touched her swollen lip. "It's just a cracked lip, it's nothing." She brought her hand up to her left shoulder and grimaced at the pain. "I wouldn't say the same for my shoulder. What did he want, to rip my arm out of its socket?" she mumbled, massaging it.

"I'll take you to the infirmary." He told her softly, his voice filled with worry.

Mani shook her head quickly. "NO! I just want to go back to my cabin. I don't know how long I've been in here, and I'm sure he must be getting worried." She needed to talk to Ryan, and fast. Whoever had attacked her would be back soon and would realize someone had helped her get out. And that person would not be happy.

He seemed hesitant. "I'd really prefer ut if you saw the doctor... but you're the boss." Vincent agreed reluctantly, supporting her as they walked out of the small room.

Mani felt dizzy, probably from the hit she'd gotten to the head. As much as she hated asking for help, she knew she wouldn't be able to walk in a straight line if Vincent wasn't helping her.

"This is a bad idea..." He mumbled, clearly unhappy with her demand.

The young woman sighed tiredly and shook her head slowly. "Vincent, please…"

"Alright, alright, to your cabin we go."

She gave him a weak grin and closed her eyes, letting him guide her down the hall. She opened her eyes when she heard him open a small door. "VINCENT! I told you, I don't want to go see the doctor!" she repeated, irritated.

"It'll go faster this way." Vincent pushed the door, which opened on a smaller corridor. "I work here, remember?"

She bowed her head and sighed heavily. "I'm sorry, I'm just not feeling too well."

The young man simply brushed it off and kept on supporting her as they slowly made their way down the corridor. Before long, Vincent stopped in front of another door. "We're just a few doors away." He opened it with one hand, helped her inside and then closed the door behind them.

"Vincent?" She'd either become totally blind, or the room was completely dark. "Vincent?"

"Yes?" His voice came from right behind her.

She frowned. "Could you turn on the light in here? I forgot to bring my night vision goggles."

"Sure."

She grimaced when the harsh light hit her eyes, only to gasp in surprise at who she saw right in front of her.

"KIM?"

The blond woman was sitting on a brown armchair. She was smiling widely, a glass of red wine in one hand and a gun in the other.

Her gun.

"Mani! What a surprise!" She welcomed her, moving the gun around.

Mani staggered on her feet as she tried to take a step backwards. "Vincent, don't move." She instructed him, lifting her arm up to keep him from getting closer.

"Why?" His voice sounded almost... amused?

She frowned and turned her head slowly, realizing her mistake she set her eyes on him. Vincent was still standing behind her, but was leaning back against the door, his arms crossed over his chest. The smug look on his face gave him away. She pinched her lips and looked back at Kim, who seemed to find everything very amusing. "That's my gun." She pointed out.

Kim threw her head back and let out a loud laugh. "I know!"

"How did you get it."She heard Vincent take a few steps towards her and then felt his breath against her cheek.

"I stole it." He told her, before walking around her to join the blond woman.

Mani nodded her head slowly, finally understanding how it had happened. While Kim had been on the Island with her, Vincent had gone into their cabin and stolen the gun. The two made a very good team. She could almost hear Ryan's voice in her head, saying _'I told you so',_ over and over again. If he were here with her, he'd probably give her that look she hated. The _'I'm amazed by my own intelligence'_ look.

Ryan. He had to be looking for her by now. He was her only chance. Because right now, with her throbbing head and her painful shoulder, she'd never be able to take both of her assailants.

"I'm sure you want to ask us a few questions?" Kim asked her, putting her now empty glass on the floor next to her chair. She settled comfortably in the chair and gave her a crooked grin. "I can see you'd never thought we were the ones you were looking for."

Mani shrugged her shoulders. "I don't have any questions." She answered, but then furrowed her brow. "On a second thought, I'd just like to know how long you've known."

"That you and Ryan weren't who you said you were?" Kim grinned and shook her head. "We found out just about an hour ago. Let's just say you didn't choose the least talkative people on the boat to become friends with."

Mani grinned tightly. "Lisa." She muttered. Of course.

Kim laughed and stood up from the chair. "You should've seen her, telling whoever wanted to hear that you and Ryan were in the police." She shook her head in disbelief. "I really was disappointed in you. All this work for nothing."

"At least now I know who you really are. Murderers." She turned her head and glared at Vincent, who was still leaning back against the door. "You're an excellent actor." She told him. She truly would've NEVER thought he had a part in this.

Vincent cocked his head, and grinned. The nice, polite young man she'd spent so much time with had completely disappeared. "Thanks. I've had a lot of experience." Without any warning, he walked over to her, grabbed her roughly by the arm and brought her to the now vacant armchair. Mani bit her lip, trying her best not to cry out at the sharp pain shooting through her shoulder as he shoved her in the seat.

She looked up at the couple, waiting for their next move. "What are you going to do with me?"

They glanced at each other and shrugged. "We're going to kill you, of course." Kim told her, pointing the gun at her. "We just have to find a way to get your partner too."

"Unfortunately, he's not as stupid as I am." She answered, praying she was right. He was probably the only person who'd be able to get her out of this mess.

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_Soooo? Review review please! :)_


	15. Chapter 14

_**Author's note: I don't know how much longer this story will last, but I DO know that I'm REALLY enjoying writing it!**_

_**Thank you for the great reviews! **_

_**I really appreciate constructive criticism! So feel free to tell me your thoughts and feelings about ANYTHING I write!PLEASE keep reviewing! **_

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**Chapter 14: Double Trouble **

Ryan walked quickly on the deck, his eyes flying in every direction as he looked for Mani. Something had happened to her, no doubt about it. He'd waited in the cabin for over an hour, but she'd never shown up. So, Ryan had decided to let Jason go back to his own cabin, since he clearly had no right to lock him in the room, and had gone looking for her.

There weren't a lot of passengers on the deck, seeing as the temperature had gotten pretty gray. There were a few people sitting around one of the bar and a couple enjoying the pool. Ryan stopped walking and rubbed his hands over his face nervously. "Come on, Wolfe, think." he muttered to himself.

Maybe Rachel was the last person who'd seen her, since Mani was supposed to drag her to their cabin for questioning. He turned around and made his way towards the stairs which would lead him back to the lower levels.

He walked quickly, not even caring to smile or acknowledge the other passengers he crossed on his way.

"Mr. Gordon!"

Ryan stopped and turned around as someone called his name, only to see a young man half running towards him, his face filled with worry. "Vincent?"

He came to a stop before him, panting. "You have to come with me, Mr. Gordon! There's something wrong with Mani!" He told him, completely out of breath.

His eyes grew wide. "WHAT? Where is she?"

"Follow me!" Vincent went back the way he'd come, Ryan just a few steps behind him.

"What happened to her?" he nearly shouted as he followed the young man through the maze of corridors. "Is she hurt?" Maybe the murderer had been faster than they had.

"I don't know what happened!" Vincent told him, struggling to keep his breath. "I've tried talking to her but she just kept coming in and out of consciousness!"

"Why didn't you take her to the infirmary?" he asked him, realizing they were running in the opposite direction.

"Mrs. Gordon was only conscious long enough to tell me she didn't want to go and ask me to find you!"

Ryan pinched his lips. That was JUST like Mani. She would probably be lying in a pool of her own blood and STILL not ask for any help. He didn't ask any more questions and just followed Vincent as he opened one door after the other, apparently knowing exactly where he was taking him.

"We're here!" Vincent called, opening one last door and disappearing inside.

He followed him inside and stopped, his eyes flying around the room. "What…" He was interrupted by something hard and cold being pushed against the side of his face.

"Agent Wolfe! So nice of you to join us."

Ryan winced, tightened his jaw and lifted his hands up.

He'd been played.

XXXXX

Mani groaned in frustration and pain as she struggled against her binds.

Vincent and Kim had told her they were going to get Ryan and bring him back, and had left her alone in the room. They'd been gone for a little more than a half hour and she knew she probably didn't have much time left before they'd come back.

She just hoped Ryan was intelligent enough not to fall for their act the way she had.

Now, if only she could just loosen the rope around her wrists. They'd tied her hands around the back of the large chair they'd forced her to sit on, and had gagged her to make sure she wouldn't try calling for help, even if they said no one would be able to hear her.

She whimpered and shook her head in defeat. There was no use, she'd never be able to free herself. Even if her shoulder hadn't been hurt like this, she would've never been able to loosen the rope.

She heard footsteps approaching and looked at the door as her attackers came back into the room.

And they weren't alone.

Mani closed her eyes and bowed her head. Now she was REALLY in trouble.

"Hi, Mani! Look who we found!" Kim told her happily. She walked over to the other woman and pulled the gag down around her neck. "He even gave us his gun." She told her, showing her the weapon proudly.

Ryan looked at her, his eyes filled with a mix of anger and relief. "Are you ok?" he asked her, ignoring the weapon that was still aimed at his back.

"No, I'm not. What the hell are you doing here?" Mani bit back. "You were supposed to get me out of here, not get caught too!"

Ryan's mouth fell, taken back by her accusations. He was about to retort when Vincent pushed him roughly towards a wooden chair, which Kim had set in front of Mani's. She pointed towards it. "Sit."

The CSI did as he was told, while glaring at his partner. "So you're saying that when Vincent came running to me, telling me you were hurt and were asking for me, I should've drawn my gun at him?" he asked her, ignoring their two people who STILL had guns pointed at him.

Mani rolled her eyes at him, clearly not impressed. "YES! You should've known I'd never _'call'_ for you if I was hurt!"

"You're the one who told me we could trust him!" he shot back angrily.

"Well since when do you do what I tell you?"

"SHUT UP!" Kim yelled out, stopping them. "Are you two really partners?" she asked, pointing her gun back and forth between the two of them.

Vincent shook his head and chocked a laugh as he finished tying Ryan's hands behind the chair, and stood up to come stand next to her. "I knew their 'marriage' wasn't as perfect as she'd told me." He chuckled, ignoring the menacing glare Mani was sending his way.

Mani and Ryan stayed quiet, silently glaring at each other. If his hands hadn't been tied behind his back, he'd probably have them tightly wrapped around her throat. And he could tell from the look she was sending him that she'd be doing the same thing.

"What now? What are we going to do with them?" Vincent asked his partner. Clearly they hadn't PLANNED to find themselves in this situation.

Kim took a long breath, looking back and forth between her two hostages. "We're gonna have to kill them."

"I know we're gonna have to kill them. I just don't know what we'll do with their bodies afterwards." His eyes grew large as another problem popped into his head. "What about the police? I mean, don't you think they're gonna be looking for them after we get back to shore?" He reminded her, getting panicked.

Kim rolled her eyes at his stupidity and slapped his arm. "I _think_ we shouldn't talk about that right _in front_ of them." She bit back at him. She grabbed hold of his arm and led him out of the room, leaving Ryan and Mani alone.

They both quietly watched the closed door for a few seconds.

Ryan turned his eyes back on Mani. "They hurt you?" He asked even if he already knew the answer. Her cracked lip and the way she kept wincing when she tried moving was a dead giveaway.

"I'm fine." She muttered, still not looking at him.

He bowed his head and sighed in defeat. Knowing pushing it would only lead to another fight, he chose to focus his mind on the most important issue: Getting out of there. He didn't know how long they had before Kim and Vincent would be back. He pinched his lips tightly and fought against his restraints, but as much as he twisted and turned, he didn't even succeed in loosing them a little.

He let out a long irritated breath, getting her to look back at him. "We have to get out of here." he told her in a low voice, not wanting Kim and Vincent to hear him.

Mani shook her head. "Talking to them and insulting them hasn't gotten me anywhere, and since you apparently can't get out of that chair, getting out of here isn't an option." she whispered back.

"Do you have a better idea then?" he asked her, his voice getting a little louder.

The brunette glanced at the door again, and nodded her head slowly. "We wait. They won't shoot us in here; it would be too difficult to dispose of our bodies without being seen. I think they're going to move us." She looked at him again, looking more confident. "That's when we're going to act."

Ryan frowned. "They are the ones with guns. And you are in no condition to put up a fight." He reminded her.

It was her turn to frown. "You let me deal with that."

"Mani…" he started, not at all satisfied with her plan.

"Look!" She interrupted him. "In my mind, we have two options: we can either let them kill us, or not. What's your choice?"

He didn't need to answer her. She was right, and he knew it.

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_**DON'T FORGET TO REVIEW EVERYONE! And I mean EVERYONE! :)**_


	16. Chapter 15

_**Author's note: Hi y'all! Took me a little longer to update... preparation for the holidays is taking a lot of my spare time! I do hope you enjoy this chapter, which was EXTREMELY difficult for me to write... since I'm not a suspense writer. **_

_**ANYWAY, don't forget to review alright? A little bit of sunshine never hurts!**_

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**Chapter 15:The Action Scene **

The room was completely quiet when Kim and Vincent came back inside. They both walked towards their two hostages, smug smiles gracing their faces.

"Hello you two! I hope you didn't chew each other's heads off while we were gone." Vincent said, coming to stand in front of Mani. "Wouldn't want to ruin that gorgeous face now, would we." He lifted his hand up to touch her cheek, but she turned her head away in disgust.

Vincent snorted and pulled his hand away. "Not like it's gonna manner anyway." He turned around and grinned at Ryan, who was glaring at him. "Are you ready to move?"

"I don't know. Where are we going?"

"Well we've talked about it, and we both decided the best way to get out of this would be for you to be out of the picture." He announced, not really surprising them.

"With both of you gone, nobody's gonna know what happened to you. And we'll have disappeared." Kim continued.

Mani threw her head back and let out a sarcastic laugh. "You two are so stupid. Do you really think our people won't realize we're gone? They're gonna get you before you can even step off this boat."

They glanced at each other and grinned, looking far from nervous about Mani's predictions. "You see, we don't think so. You two are the only ones who know about us." Kim said, smiling confidently. "We'll just mingle with the thousands other passengers, and disappear."

"And your games will be over, since you won't ever be able to get on a cruise again."Mani finished for them.

She chuckled. "And we blame you for that. But we'll find other ways to get money. Plus, we DO have more than we need." She wrinkled her nose and shook her head, waving the gun around. "Why am I even defending myself to you? You won't even be around to see what happens anyway. Vincent, let's get this freak show on the road!"

"Alright!" He went behind Mani's chair to untie her hands. He was rough, pulling on her arms harshly as he loosened the rope, and grinning proudly when he heard her hiss in pain.

Ryan stayed quiet as he watched the scene, wishing with all his being he could take that rope and tie it around the other man's throat.

He looked up at Kim, who was pointing her weapon at Mani, but watching him with an amused look on her face. "Don't worry Ryan, you'll get your turn." She assured him. She grabbed Mani's injured arm and pulled her up, holding the gun against her side, as Vincent went to work on untying Ryan's hands.

Vincent freed him quickly and imitated Kim as he held Ryan's weapon against his side. "Do NOT try anything stupid, got it? Or maybe you won't be the only ones getting hurt on this ship." He threatened. "We shouldn't cross anybody, since everyone's having dinner right now, but you never know."

Ryan glared at him but stayed quiet. He didn't think they'd really try shooting other people on the boat, since it would mean they would get caught for good, but he couldn't risk it. He looked at Mani to make sure she was ok, tightening his jaw when he saw her face. He could see she was a lot weaker than she'd admitted to him. Escaping would be a lot harder than he'd thought, but they'd have to try. There was no way he was going to let these bastards win.

Vincent pushed the gun into his ribs roughly and lifted his chin towards the door. "Move."

Ryan turned around and made his way to the exit, followed closely by Kim and Mani, who was walking a lot slower than he was. Without asking any questions, he did as he was told and walked through the maze of empty corridors. Just like Vincent had said, the boat seemed completely empty, making it a lot easier for them to take them to wherever they wanted to take them. They walked for a few minutes, until they reached a large exit door.

Ryan pushed the door open and found himself outside, on a part of the deck which seemed to be reserved for the personnel. There were four chairs and a small table, with a small ashtray and a magazine which someone had probably forgotten there. The sun had gone down a while ago, and so had the temperature. The ocean was completely black and so was the sky, which meant it was probably covered with dark clouds.

"Put your hands up!" Vincent shouted.

He lifted his hands up and turned his back to the ocean. Kim was holding Mani's arm tightly, keeping her from moving away. Mani's hair flew in every direction as the wind blew, but what caught his eyes was how her face seemed completely white, her bloody lip clashing against her paleness.

"See? This is perfect! We'll just have to drop you into the ocean and throw the guns overboard." Vincent announced, showing the ocean. "Look around! No one will ever find you."

Mani let out a low chuckle. "The truth always comes out. One way or the other." She could barely be heard over the sound of the waves crashing around the boat.

Kim grimaced and pushed the gun roughly against her temple, making her cry out in pain. "SHUT UP!"

Ryan made a small move towards her, but was stopped by Vincent's gun in his face.

"No no no, Superman, that's a bad idea." Vincent berated him. He waved the gun in his face. "I'm enjoying this way too much."

Kim however wasn't having as much fun as he was and seemed more eager to get things over with. "It's time to stop fooling around and finish what we started." She turned to stand in front of Mani and aimed the gun at her forehead. "Say goodbye to…"

Without warning, Mani's eyes grew wide as she started couching violently, bending her body in half. Kim and Vincent seemed taken aback by her sudden movement, and never saw Ryan coming.

With a roar, Ryan lunged at the other man, sending him against the railing. He grabbed the arm that held the weapon and beat his hand repeatedly against the railing to make him drop the gun.

Kim turned around and aimed the gun at Ryan. "DON'T MOVE!" She yelled, completely forgetting about the choking woman who was still coughing next to her. She was about to pull the trigger when she was elbowed in the ribs, making her lose her balance. She fell to the ground and Mani straddled her, holding her arms over her head. Mani held onto the hand that held the weapon and started beating the other woman with her other hand, crying out as she put all of her strength into the fight, forgetting about the soaring pain shooting from her shoulder. Screaming, Kim tried to push her off her but wasn't as strong as Mani was.

Just as Mani pulled her bloody fist back to hit her once more, a loud gunshot was heard. She cried out and, grabbing the weapon from the now unconscious woman's hand, aimed it at the two men who were still fighting to get control of the gun. Ryan hit the other man in the chin, making him stumble backwards.

What happened next seemed to go in slow motion. Vincent, who was bent backwards over the railing, cried out and lost his grip over it. He fell back over the railing, screaming as he held onto Ryan, who followed him over board.

Mani jumped up, ran over to the railing and grabbed onto Ryan's wrist just as he was about to follow Vincent into the black water. She closed her eyes tightly and screamed, feeling her shoulder being pulled out of its socket.

Ryan looked down at the black water, trying to see where Vincent had fallen. There was no chance he could've survived such a fall, and if he had, he'd most probably be swallowed by the huge waves produced by the ship.

He looked up as Mani screamed once more. "RYAN! I can't hang on much longer!" she shouted, grimacing in agony.

Ryan tightened his lips and grabbed one of the bars with his free hand. He slowly pulled himself up, groaning with the effort as Mani did her best to help him. He finally made it back onto the deck and they fell backwards together on the hard floor. They lay on their back, side by side, panting. Mani's face was covered with tears as she sobbed, trying to hold onto her shoulder.

"Are you ok?" Ryan panted, trying to get a better look at her face.

Mani shook her head. "No, you ass, you dislocated my shoulder." She moaned at him, turning away from him.

Ryan looked back up and let out a tired chuckle. "You're ok. We're ok." He panted, laying his hand over her hip as she wept silently.

* * *

_**Soooo? What'd you think? Loved it? Hated it? **_

_**What could I have done to make it better? I NEED TO KNOW!**_


	17. Chapter 16

_**Author's note: Hi there! I'm sorry it took me so long to update... The holidays were busy busy this year! Anyway, here's the next chapter, I hope you all like it. I'm going to write the last chapter soon, and hopefully, you'll all be happy with it! **_

_**Don't forget to review everyone! :)**_

**Chapter 16: Le calme après la tempête**

"So, how is she?"

The doctor smiled and nodded her head. "Well, aside from a dislocated shoulder, a large bump at the back of her head and a split lip, she should be fine!" she answered him.

Ryan raised his eyebrows, grinning. "See? You're fine!"

"Says the guy who can't stop whining that he won't ever be able to use his left hand again." Mani shot back, giving him a sideways grin.

Ryan rolled his eyes at her and stood from the chair. "Let's go, princess."

"DON'T call me that." She mumbled, standing up from the bed. She touched her bright blue shoulder sling with her right hand, not sure if she would get used to using only one of her hands for a few days. She thanked the doctor and followed Ryan out of the room.

"Did you talk to Horatio?" she asked him as they slowly made their way towards their cabin. She lost her balance slightly, Ryan's hand shooting to her good arm to support her. "You ok?" He asked her, his voice filled with concern.

Mani snorted and nodded her head. "Yeah, I think the painkillers aren't only numbing my shoulder." She told him, grinning.

Ryan smiled back at her but didn't let go of her arm. "I did. I called him while you were getting checked out by the doctor. He says he's going to be waiting for us in Miami." He answered.

She wrinkled her nose. "I almost forgot I had to go back there."

"Come on, Mani, stop complaining. See it as… vacation time. Now that we got the bad guys, you don't have to work anymore."

"We got only one 'bad guy'." She reminded him.

He nodded his head slowly. "And the other one will never hurt anyone again." He told her, his voice confident.

The brunette glanced at him and gave him a small grin. After they'd both found their breath again, they'd dragged Kim to the security agents and turned her in. They'd explained what they were doing on the ship and what had taken place, and then had locked the murderer in a small room, where she'd spend the rest of the trip back to Boston. Then Ryan had taken Mani to the infirmary and had called Horatio while she was being taken care of.

Ryan smiled back at her and put his arm around her shoulder and brought her closer to him. "You did good back there."

She looked down, her smile growing bigger. "I know." She chuckled with him, and looked up at him again. "You did good too."

"We make a good team."

Mani rolled her eyes at him. "Come on, we haven't been able to stop fighting the whole time we've been here!"

"Maybe. But we got the job done."

"We did."

"And we're not fighting now!" He added, giving her a cheeky grin and making her chuckle.

They finally reached their cabin. Ryan unlocked the door and held it open for her, letting her walk in first. The room was just as he'd left it when he had gone looking for her. It almost seemed like a decade ago he'd been struggling not to choke Jason as he was making him wait in the room for the two women to join them.

"Wow, it's almost four in the morning." Mani said, bringing him out of his thoughts. "I think we both deserve a good night sleep."

"Yep, and tomorrow, we go back to reality."

"Yeah." She grabbed the tank top she slept in and looked down at herself. She knew she needed a shower, but she was just too tired. She'd probably fall asleep in the tub. It could wait till the next morning. "I'm gonna go get changed." She announced, already making her way to the bathroom. She closed the door behind her and slowly took off the sling. She'd been given painkillers, which she'd swallowed eagerly, but it only numbed the pain in her shoulder. She tried lifting her arm to take off her tank top and groaning, finding herself unable to complete the task.

She threw her head back and let out an exasperate sigh. She wouldn't be able to do it herself. She looked at her reflection in the mirror and grimaced. She looked absolutely horrifying. She quickly tried to straighten her hair and washed her face, before brushing her teeth. When she was done, she lifted her chin up and opened the door.

She found Ryan sitting on his side of the bed, clad in his boxers and light blue t-shirt. "I need your help."

Ryan frowned in concern and stood from the bed. "What is it?"

She pointed at her dirty green tank top and winced. "I can't lift my arm, so I can't get out of my clothes." Shetold him, her face growing warmer. "Can you… I mean, could you…"

He grinned and nodded his head. "Of course, I will." He got closer to her and lifted his hands up to the hem of her green top. He helped her pull the tank over her uninjured arm, over her head, and then slowly down her injured arm. "There." He murmured.

Mani gave him a shy, unable to look him in the eyes as shivers ran down her spine. "I think I could've done that myself. I'm tired I guess." She said, ignoring her body's reaction.

"You're exhausted." Without asking her if she still needed him, he helped her put her pajama top on.

She let him do it, watching his face as he carefully worked. He moved slowly, careful not to hurt her already painful shoulder. He settled his warm hazel eyes on hers when he was done, giving her a small crooked smile. "Do you need help with the bottom?"

Mani's face grew even warmer and shook her head. "No thanks, I think I got it." She'd never seen him acting so… charming_. 'Must've bumped my head harder than I thought.' _

Ryan nodded his head, still smiling. "I'll be in the bathroom. Call me if you need me." He told her, before walking around her to go in the bathroom.

Once he shut the door, Mani finally let out a long shaky breath and sat on the bed. She slowly pulled her previously white pants down her legs and threw them in a corner, before getting to work on pulling her pajama pants up with only one hand. It took a lot longer than it usually did, but at least she was done before Ryan came back.

He turned off the bathroom light and walked back into the room, giving her one of these smiles that made her heart beat faster. "What are you still doing up?" He asked her, noticing the pair of shorts she'd thrown on the floor. Without a word, he went over to it, picked it up and laid it over the back of a chair as if it was the most natural thing in the world.

Mani watched him silently, still sitting at the end of the bed.

Ryan turned around and chuckled when he saw her staring at him. "Come on, let's get you to bed." He told her, coming to stand in front of her. He offered her his hand and helped her stand up. However, she still didn't move a muscle. Ryan grinned at her. "I feel like I'm talking to a zombie." He teased, looking into her warm brown eyes.

Mani stayed completely quiet as she let him pull her towards her side of the bed. He let go of her hand and lifted the covers for her, before guiding her to lie down. She hid her feet under the covers and laid her head on the soft pillow, letting him tuck her in. Her eyes started closing against her will, slowly falling asleep. Right before she lost consciousness, she swore she felt Ryan's warm hand on her cheek.

XXXXX

When Mani woke up from a dreamless sleep, the first thing that came to her mind was the fact that the only thing she could feel was the unbearable pain coming from her shoulder. The painkillers she'd swallowed before going to bed had stopped working. She whimpered as she tried to move, holding her breath as she waited for the pain to subside.

Somewhere in the cloud of pain filling her brain, she felt someone touching her hand. "Mani, are you ok?" Ryan whispered in her ear, sounding concerned.

Mani let out a long shaky breath and shook her head, grimacing in pain.

"I'll go get your meds." He told her before climbing out of the bed. He was back before she even realized he was gone, sitting next to her. "Come on, help me out a little." He told her, lifting her head to help her swallow the pill.

Mani sipped on the water and laid her head back on the pillow, grimacing. "How long is it supposed to hurt like this?" She moaned, cracking her eyes open to look at him.

Ryan gave her an encouraging smile. "A couple of days, more or less." He lifted a hand up to her forehead and brushed a strand of hair away. "Try to relax, let the meds kick in. I'll take a quick shower." He told her, letting his hand slide down to her cheek.

The brunette gave him a weak smile and closed her eyes, trying to focus on anything else BUT the pain.

She must've passed out again, since when she opened her eyes again, Ryan was back sitting next to her, touching her head. "Hey." He whispered, his grin widening when he saw her open her eyes. "You're back."

She grinned and nodded her head slowly. "I think so." She slowly sat up, wincing slightly at the numb pain she felt. "Now this feels a lot better." She told him, reaching up to test her shoulder.

"Well we still have about four hours before we reach port. What do you say we take this time to check on our prisoner and then, enjoy the rest of the trip like real vacationers?"

"This actually sounds tempting." She touched her hair and grimaced. "Right now, the only I want to do is take a shower. I feel like I slept in a dumpster. I must look like the creature from the black lagoon."

"Well if that's what the creature from the black lagoon looks like, I definitely want to meet it!" Ryan joked, giving her a small wink.

Mani rolled her eyes at him, still unable to keep herself from blushing. "You have horrible taste, Wolfe." She told him, hitting his shoulder with her good arm. "Now out of my way so I can grab that shower."

Ryan chuckled but humored her, standing up from the bed. Mani followed his move, slowly climbing out from under the covers.

"Taking a shower with only one hand." She mumbled, slowly padding towards the bathroom. "That's gonna be one frustrating experience."

"I could always help you, Mani. It could be my last duty as your husband." Ryan offered, giving her one of his most charming smiles.

Mani rolled her eyes again. "You wish." She grumbled just as she shut the bathroom door.

Ryan let out a long sigh._ 'You have NO idea.'_ He thought, sitting back on the unmade bed.

* * *

**_Soooo? Simple, but I thought it was cute. :)_**

**_Still one chapter left!_**

**_Don't forget to review!_**


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